Does this sound frighteningly familiar? A leader in the Christian Coalition says gays should be required to wear warning labels.
The leader of a conservative Christian lobby group says that gays should be required to wear warning labels.
"We put warning labels on cigarette packs because we know that smoking takes one to two years off the average life span, yet we 'celebrate' a lifestyle that we know spreads every kind of sexually transmitted disease and takes at least 20 years off the average life span according to the 2005 issue of the revered scientific journal Psychological Reports," said Rev. Bill Banuchi, executive director of the New York Christian Coalition.
The journal regularly publishes articles described by many mainstream psychologists as misleading and faulty. The homosexuality morbidity study was conducted by the conservative anti-gay Family Research Institute.
Banuchi called LGBT Pride celebrations held in New Paltz, north of New York City, and other areas of the country on the weekend "sad".
Of course, it's not the first time someone's wanted to put warning labels on people, especially gays. But I wonder if Banuchi realizes who had that idea first.
The pink triangle (rosa Winkel) was a symbol used by the Nazis to identify male prisoners in concentration camps who were sent there because of their homosexuality. Every prisoner had to wear a triangle on his or her jacket, the color of which was to categorise him according "to his kind". Jews had to wear the yellow badge, lesbians the black triangle
In fact, there's a whole book on the subject, and two movies (both of which I highly recommend), but I doubt Banuchi reads much besides the KJV.
This is a movement whose footsoldiers are already campaigning to ban -- or at least put warning labels on -- books with gay content. So, putting warning labels on people next, doesn't sound like a far leap. After all, as Brauchi said, it makes us much easier to find...and (as he didn't come right out and say) round up, if needed. Considering that this movement has nascent re-education camps already set up for us, Banuchi's statement -- I think -- makes the Nazi analogy quite apt now.
It makes me wonder why some think we should play nice with these people now. In the meantime, I'll wait for other religious conservatives to speak out against Brauchi's statement. But I won't hold my breath.