Bill O’Reilly’s Evolution – Marriage Equality “Thing” Will Lead to Unions With A “Goat,” “Duck,” “Turtle,” “Dolphin”
May 13, 2009
Media Matters for America has long documented Fox News Host Bill O’Reilly’s ongoing fascination with what he sees as a causal link between marriage equality and inter-species marriages.
Yesterday, he made yet another reference on his show, The O’Reilly Factor. Speaking to guest Margaret Hoover, he said:
O’Reilly: Hoover, you would let everybody get married who want to get married. You want to marry a turtle, you can.
You can watch the segment below:
Back in 2005, Media Matters had taken notice of similar commentary from O’Reilly, but then it was goats. From the March 29, 2005, edition of The Radio Factor:
O’Reilly: The judges in Massachusetts knew they weren’t going to be impeached when they said to the state legislature, “Gay marriage is now legal in Massachusetts because we say it is. We the judges” — they knew they weren’t gonna be impeached. They knew the legislature didn’t care. You get the government you deserve. In California, the prevailing wisdom is marijuana is no big deal, let’s legalize it. And since we can’t get that through the legislature, we’ll do it this way. And they did it! You see?
And 10 years, this is gonna be a totally different country than it is right now. Laws that you think are in stone — they’re gonna evaporate, man. You’ll be able to marry a goat — you mark my words!
A few weeks later, O’Reilly continued with his goat fixation on the April 13, 2005, edition of The Radio Factor:
Now, there was another request up there from a woman — prisoner, inmate, convict — who wanted to marry another woman who’s not in prison. And, I guess they’re still mullin’ that over. No, it was denied — no, I’m sorry, they’re mullin’ it over — no, it was approved! Oooh, no, look at this! The other request was approved because it involved the marriage of a female inmate to a woman who’s not in prison. See, I woulda denied that. I’d have said, “When you get outta prison, you can marry her.” But not here. This isn’t pre-Cana [Catholic premarital counseling] prison — all right, you can’t do that. See, I’m not buyin’ into any of this politically correct nonsense. If you’re a prisoner, you’re a convict, you lose your rights until you get out. So, I’m sorry. We’re not lettin’ you get married, not gonna let you drive a car, you can’t vote. You’re in — you’re in, that’s it.
So this is just the beginning, ladies and gentlemen, of this crazy gay marriage insanity — is gonna lead to all kinds of things like this. Courts are gonna be clogged. Every nut in the world is gonna — somebody’s gonna come in and say, “I wanna marry the goat.” You’ll see it; I guarantee you’ll see it.
By the September 14, 2005, edition of his radio show, O’Reilly had moved on to ducks:
The secular progressive movement would like to have marriage abolished, in my opinion. They don’t want it, because it is not diverse enough. You know, that’s what this gay marriage thing is all about. But now, you know, the poly-amorphous marriage, whatever they call it, you can marry 18 people, you can marry a duck…
Click here for the audio, courtesy of Media Matters.
In between the turtles of 2009 and the goats and ducks of 2005, came the dolphins of 2006. From the January 4, 2006, edition of The O’Reilly Factor, where he compared marriage equality to a woman marrying a dolphin:
One of the arguments against gay marriage, that we just spoke about, is that if it becomes law, all other alternative marital visions will be allowed. We’ve already seen a Dutchman marry two ladies in the Netherlands. Looks like a happy guy. And now comes word that a British woman has married a dolphin in Israel. Forty-one-year-old Sharon Tendler has tied the knot with a 35-year-old mammal, so age is no problem there.
Click here to watch the video.
As Media Matters wryly noted, Tendler’s “marriage” was not legally recognized:
According to an Associated Press report, Tendler’s “marriage” was not a legal one. She reportedly “still kept open the option of ‘marrying human’ at some stage,” but, “she said for now she was strictly a ‘one-dolphin woman,’ ” and that she “hope[s] he has a lot of baby dolphins with the other dolphins. The more dolphins the better.”
Also, the Dutchman O’Reilly referred to was also not legally married according to sources who actually researched the case.
For facts and more information on marriage equality, please head over to www.FreedomToMarry.org and read through GLAAD’s Talking About series.
It’s Time Fox News “Catches” Up – Anti-Gay Jokes Unacceptable
May 12, 2009
Fox News continued it’s unfortunate history of making anti-gay jokes at Congressman Barney Frank’s (D-MA) expense this week.
As Media Matters noted, Fox Business News Host Eric Bolling took a cheap shot at Frank during his show Street Meat. Bolling superimposed the head of Rep. Frank, along with others who have refused to come on Bolling’s show, over a graphic of a baseball diamond.
Describing the placement of each individual, Bolling said:
” ..and appropriately positioned, Representative Barney Frank, catching of course.”
And on March 31, 2009, Fox News Host Glenn Beck also made a joke at Rep. Frank’s expense:
“Happy Birthday, Barney Frank. He’s sixty-nine…I just gave you time to make your own joke.”
Then, of course, there was the March 12, 2008 edition of The O’Reilly Factor, where Bill O’Reilly and Dennis Miller left nothing to the imagination with this exchange:
Miller: If he [Obama] wants to earn my goodwill and the goodwill of a lot of people, he oughta flatten these punks at AIG who keep take – these guys party. They make Caligula look like a shut-in. Enough is enough. We just gave ‘em 150 billion. We gotta follow them around with hidden cameras. Take it all back. Let them go away. It’s economic Darwinism. If they wanna spend like that, they should go under. Forget the parties, you guys. And I think that he oughta come down hard on them right now.
O’Reilly: And then arrest Barney Frank, correct? (laughs)
Miller: Eh, Barney might wanna get arrested. (laughs)
O’Reilly: (laughs) Okay, Dennis Miller everybody. I told you to hide the kids. (laughs)
Dr. Phil Gives Up the Search for Fake Bisexual Teens, For Now
May 8, 2009
Last week, a teazer appeared on Dr. Phil’s website that stated:
Is your teenager rebelling by pretending to be bi-sexual? Has your teen pretended to be bi-sexual because he/she thinks it’s cool? Or has your teenage daughter pretended to be bi-sexual to attract boys?
Please email only if you are willing to appear on TV.
Soon after, Queers United sent out a call to action on their blog. Bisexual blogger Sheela Lambert and others from the community responded by writing letters and reaching out to GLAAD for assistance.
GLAAD responded by contacting a producer of the Dr. Phil show with concerns about the defamatory nature of this teazer and offered to provide bisexuality expert spokespeople to participate in a possible show about bisexuality.
We received this response:
We are not planning on doing a show like this right now or in May sweeps. We are going into hiatus next week and will not be taping for a while. We have many plugs up because we are always looking for interesting stories. If a story like this should come to fruition we will attempt to contact you.
Thank you.
Soon after GLAAD made contact with the producer, we noted that the teazer was removed.
h/t to BiWriters and Queers United
O’Reilly Joins Smear Campaign, Falsely Claims Hate Crime Bill Protects Pedophiles
May 8, 2009
Like fellow Fox News hosts, Sean Hannity and Bill Hemmer, Bill O’Reilly has been proliferating false information concerning the language of the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act.
The federal bill defines a bias motivated crime as one that is “motivated by prejudice based on the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability of the victim.”
As Media Matters noted, contrary to the claims of O’Reilly et. al., pedophilia is already defined by federal law as a classification that exists outside of sexual orientation and/or disability. Thereby precluding the need to include any additional language that would exclude pedophiles from protection under the bill.
Video below:
Tammy Bruce Compliments Miss CA, Slams the “Gay Gestapo”
May 8, 2009
Openly gay radio Host Tammy Bruce and openly gay former Clinton Pollster Bernard Whitman recently appeared in a Fox News segment exploring so-called “Intolerance in the Gay Marriage Debate.” Bruce used the opportunity to speak out against what she terms the “gay gestapo” or “far left framework.”
Whitman, who was met with resistance from Bruce, steered the conversation towards his position in regards to marriage and civil unions that “separate but equal never works.” Bruce passionately disagreed.
Concerning Miss California, Tammy Bruce stated:
“After that attack on the internet, it has become this really community wide attack on her and I think the hypocrisy is obvious. Now I also happen to disagree with her I think that we can find a civil union framework while respecting marriage. But ultimately, I do agree with her position, which I think is quite classic, that she has a certain position that she stated and respectfully said ‘but I’m glad people can decide for themselves.’ Quite an opposite message is coming from what I term the gay gestapo, which is the far left framework, which ultimately smears every gay person.”
Video below:
Fox News Fear-Mongering, False Claims that Hate Crimes Bill Will Protect Pedophiles
May 7, 2009
Fox News hosts Sean Hannity and Bill Hemmer have been busy the past two days advancing their false claims that Democrats voted to protect and defend pedophiles by voting against an amendment to the bill by Rep. Steve King (R-IA) stating that “the term ’sexual orientation’ shall not include pedophilia.”
As Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) said during an April 23 House Judiciary Committee hearing, and Media Matters noted:
the term “sexual orientation” is already defined by federal statute as applying only to “consensual homosexuality or heterosexuality,” thereby excluding pedophiles, who engage in nonconsensual sexual relationships with children. Baldwin added that it “is unnecessary and, I would add, inflammatory in terms of insinuations.
Now that the amendment has failed, Hannity and Hammer along with King, have done their best to spread their highly incendiary falsehoods and inspire fear.
Video below:
h/t to Media Matters for America
Federal Hate Crimes Bill Passes the House
April 29, 2009
As reported by the Associated Press and the Boston Globe, the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act (H.R. 1913) passed the House of Representatives Wednesday, 249 – 175.
The bill includes bias motivated crimes committed based on the race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability of the victim.
According to the Boston Globe, Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Masachussetts, who is the Senate’s chief sponsor of the bill, issued this statement this afternoon:
“I commend the House for its action to strengthen the inadequate existing federal law on hate crimes. No members of society, none, deserve to be victims of a violent crime because of their race, their religion, their ethnic background, their disability, their gender, their gender identity, or their sexual orientation. It’s long past time for Congress to do more to prevent hate crimes and insist that they be fully investigated and prosecuted when they occur. This important legislation is supported by a broad coalition of over 300 law enforcement, civic, religious and civil rights organizations and I look forward to prompt action by the Senate”
The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Action Fund and the Anti-Defamation Legaue have both issued statements hailing the House’s decision.
More information will be posted as it is made available.
Ann Coulter Serves Her “Tea” With Homophobic Innuendo
April 22, 2009
In her most recent syndicated column entitled ”Obama’s recipe for change not my cup of tea,” Ann Coulter once again takes the low road. In the column, which has been widely published across conservative media, she uses Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) to make a joke with a homophobic subtext:
…no one is calling the tea parties “tea bagging” — except Olbermann and Maddow. Republicans call them “tea parties.”
But if the Republicans were calling them “tea bagging parties,” the MSNBC hosts would have a fantastically hilarious segment for viewers in San Francisco and in the West Village and not anyplace else in the rest of the country. On the other hand, they’re not called “tea-bagging parties.” (That of course refers to the cocktail hour at Barney Frank’s condo in Georgetown.)
This is a needless jab at Congressman Frank whose mention in her piece is totally unrelated to the content of her column.
h/t to Media Matters for America.
FOX Host Takes Jab At Perez Hilton
April 22, 2009
As you may have heard/read/seen, Perez Hilton recently came under fire for his response to Miss California Carrie Prejean’s answer at the Miss USA contest. GLAAD issued a statement yesterday about the media coverage surrounding the controversy.
Media Matters for America has highlighted a segment from FOX News’ morning show FOX & Friends on their blog:
Steve Doocy, host of FOX & Friends, read this statement from Prejean’s grandmother after noting Perez Hilton is “gay and is a liberal activist”:
“I don’t know why that gay guy, Perez, was even judging a contest with a bunch of girls. That doesn’t make any sense. He should be judging a Chippendales contest.”
Doocy then responded with chuckles, noting: “Grandma, has got a point.”
