Brody's Notes... Anti-Gay Crusader Peter LaBarbera Launches Ad Hominem Attack On Gay Blogger Jeremy Hooper

Screenshot Courtesy Of Good As You.org

By Brody Levesque (Bethesda, Maryland) OCT 24 | Notoriously Anti-Gay crusader Peter LaBarbera, of the Naperville, Illinois based 'Americans For Truth About Homosexuality,' an organisation that promotes single issue bias against what it refers to as the 'Homosexual Activist Agenda,' took aim Saturday at New York based Good As You's Editor, Jeremy Hooper.

In an Ad Hominem attack, LaBarbera published a wedding photograph from Hooper's own marriage that had been utilised on the Good As You website as a campaign tool in the fight for LGBT marriage equality.

Defacing the photograph, LaBarbera changed the super imposed script from "This is what marriage equality looks like," to "This is what perversion looks like."

Hooper posted a screenshot of the defaced photo along with his statement that; " ...I still won't attack this person in anger." 
One comment following Hooper's posted article offered:

"... this makes me furious, and at the same time I admire your restraint. These people haven't really gotten past being grade school bullies (whatever role they played in that) and so I can't imagine their lives are very fulfilling now - particularly since the only way it appears they can make themselves taller is by standing on someone else. I know it won't for a moment diminish your life and love (as it wouldn't mine) but the meaness, cruelty (Maggie: What? Me responsible?) and proud stance of hurting other people is starting to make them look like the small nasty POS they really are. They are clinging to the dark (Hey Anita Bryant - see what Florida finally did?) It'll take time, but they will eventually become irrelevant as long as people like you and others keep showing that love is what matters."

Hooper responded:

Well the photo isn't even a photo, really.  It's a screencap taken from a public web video of my and Andrew's vows.  So Peter (or anyone) else could find that video and make their own screencap without my permission.  I fully support his right to do so.

Yes, there is another element in terms of the attack.  But I've put myself out there as a public person.  To folks like Pete, my wedding is my most ultimate act of advocacy.  So in a truly bizarre way that marries personal with professional, I have to consider it as part of my body of work -- just another thing I've done that Peter stands against.  In that sense: I support his right to challenge my life, love, and public cause, as weird as that it is.  

Please don't worry about me: Again, I've put myself out there and am so used to this sort of thing.  You all only see what I choose to post -- there are so many other knocks and attack lines that come my way that I don't post.  They affect me not.  I am in no way a victim.  Andrew and I have a truly magical life here in NYC, filled with joy and success and personal triumphs.  These kinds of things are just the absurdly humorous lashings of unfulfilled minds.  Yes, they make me sad: But for the messenger and the generalized message as a whole, not for myself or this one personal attack.

But like Jason said: I *always* prefer to let people like Peter shout their message from the rafters.  It helps us immeasurably.  There have been *so many* prominent "pro-family" people over the years who have written to tell me how much they stand against Peter's actions and work.  They know that he helps us and hurts them.

Yet at the same time, it's Peter's frankness and candor that makes me respect his work more than many of those other "pro-fam" groups and people.  At least he puts it out there.  At least you know exactly where you stand in his eyes.  If that whole movement was as forthright, we'd have a very different "culture war."