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News and commentary about the anti-gay lobbyJune 4th, 2010
Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum, who is now a GOP candidate running for Florida’s governorship, overruled his own main attorney defending the state’s gay adoption ban, and hired the now disgraced anti-gay activists George Rekers for $120,693, according to new information published in today’s Miami Herald Tribune.
The e-mails released Thursday show that an attorney in McCollum’s own office warned against hiring Rekers, whose testimony had been deemed suspect in an earlier Arkansas lawsuit that challenged a ban on placing foster children in homes with gay parents. Assistant Attorney General Valerie Martin wrote in a July 2007 e-mail that after talking to Arkansas officials and reviewing the background of the former University of South Carolina professor that she would “recommend NOT using him.”
E-mails also show that during a conference call Martin — who said the state considered more than 30 possible expert witnesses — was ordered to hire Rekers “against my strong cautions.”
Records show that the Department of Children and Families, which brought in the Attorney General’s office to defend the lawsuit, didn’t want to hire Rekers as an expert witness in the lawsuit because he wanted to charge $300 an hour. DCF only agreed to his hiring based on McCollum’s strong recommendations.
The noted anti-gay activist and “expert” witness was later discovered returning from a European vacation with a male escort hired from Rentboy.com. Rekers claims he hired Jo-Vanni Roman to help him “lift his luggage.”
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Priya Lynn
June 4th, 2010
I wonder why Mccollum was so keen on hiring Rekers given that he had reason to believe Rekers’ testimony would be counterproductive to the anti-gay cause?
Lindoro Almaviva
June 4th, 2010
You know Priya, that is a very good question. Could it be his way of sabbotaging the defence or could it be that the guy is just a bumbling idiot who could not recognize bias because his own had him blind?
Candace
June 4th, 2010
Priya said: “I wonder why Mccollum was so keen on hiring Rekers given that he had reason to believe Rekers’ testimony would be counterproductive to the anti-gay cause?”
NOTHING is counter-productive to the anti-gay cause in Florida. We call Florida the “Sunshine Hate” because of the discrimination aganst gay people here. From adoption to hospital visitation to food stamps to domestic partnerships to ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING GAY, Florida leads the way in state-endorsed hatred and discrimination.
Priya Lynn
June 4th, 2010
“NOTHING is counter-productive to the anti-gay cause in Florida.”.
Uhhh…I’m not buying that.
Regan DuCasse
June 4th, 2010
You beat me to it, Priya Lynn. McCollum, regardless of the high cost, and dubious veracity of what Rekers could offer, you’d think that McCollum would just bag the idea and move on to something else.
To echo other points here, no expense was spared because it was other people’s money, and no sacrifice was too great as long as it’s gay people and their lives that are sacrificed.
The war on gay people has no boundaries. It’s worth exploiting public funds (which gay Floridians contribute to, big time), it’s worth the risk of revealing scandalous issues like Rekers and throwing him to the wolves as (the reason why gay people can’t be trusted).
The real shame is all this expense, risk of exposure and all other manner of costs waging a war on gay people, doesn’t save children, marriage or get a very serious problem solved in FL.
Like, having homes for children in need.
It’s not like McCollum has any in HIS house.
I don’t think I’ve seen anything so wasteful, arrogant and cynical as this folly against gay people.
Were such energy directed elsewhere and the agenda of engaging gay people as allies to solve problems were involved, a lot more problems WOULD be solved.
Is there a name for such obsession that wastes so much and does nothing good?
I’d like to hear it.
And this pustule wants to RUN the state?!
Who does he think he is that he should?
Burr
June 4th, 2010
Kinda old but I didn’t see it mentioned..
Bill McCollum’s gay senior adviser adopted children
WTF is wrong with both of these guys..
Candace
June 4th, 2010
“Uhhh…I’m not buying that.”
Uhhh…. that’s because you don’t live in South Florida.
Do you really think that we haven’t fought back against the anti-gay right wingers here? Of course we have. What have we accomplished? Not much of a damn thing, even though 2 days in a row don’t go by without me getting solicitations from a dozen FLA organizations “fighting anti-gay discrimination.”
McCullom’s attitude is typical of Floridians.
btw, this is my all-time favorite dirty- politics-as-usual from Florida anti-gays:
http://www.newser.com/story/83442/anti-gay-adoption-org-mixes-lesbian-photos.html
Nice mullet, huh?
Swampfox
June 5th, 2010
Where is Rekers these days. Is he still denying everything? Meanwhile, Ted Haggard is going to establish a new church.
Priya Lynn
June 5th, 2010
Candace losing the case on gay adoption was a setback to the anti-gay cause in Florida. A civil union law would be a setback to the anti-gay cause in Florida. The idea that nothing in Florida would be a setback to the anti-gay cause is nonsense.
Candace
June 5th, 2010
This is what I said: NOTHING is counter-productive to the anti-gay cause in Florida.
You said that’s nonsense because McCollum lost the adoption case.
Oh my, they lost the case on adoption. How many times is it now? Twice? Three times? And are gays allowed to adopt in Florida? Why no, they’re not.
The reality is that h8ters continue to win every contest on gay rights in Florida. Oh, every now and then some county passes a non-discrimination ordinance. Key West treats gays decently. It’s better than nothing.
Why are the campaigns so unequal? Because they’re so smart and strong and god is on their side and they have the strength of ten because their hearts are pure? Hell, no. It’s because most gay people here don’t give a rat’s ass about politics.
I spent WEEKS talking to gays and lesbians before the vote 2 years ago that banned civil unions in Florida. I stressed how important it was to vote, begged people to vote, and stood in line myself for over 4 hours to cast a vote. Not a ONE of the gay people I spoke to, voted. NONE of them. They were just too tired to stand in those long lines. That’s what they told me, they didn’t want to stand in line. And the church devils passed a proposition that not only enforces the state DOMA, it bans civil unions and domestic partnerships too. And my wonderful black neighbors and friends took the opportunity to wave to me and my partner –as we stood in line beside them, electing our first black President– and went inside to vote against gay rights, to keep me a second-class citizen. Thanks a bunch for that.
It’s the perfect storm: ignorant fundie homophobes throw themselves into every campaign and the gay people talk a lot of talk but that’s about as far as it goes. Feh.
Priya Lynn
June 6th, 2010
Candace you said nothing is counterproductive to the anti-gay cause in Florida – that’s nonsense.
When gays are allowed to adopt that will be counter-productive to the anti-gay cause. If a civil union law were to be passed that would be counter-productive to the anti-gay cause. Any advancement for gays in Florida would be counter-productive to the anti-gay cause. The idea that nothing is counterproductive to the anti-gay cause is obviously nonsense.
Candace
June 6th, 2010
Good god, priya…. “that will be” and “is” are two different things.
Feel free to continue to tell me how great it will be for the gay cause when all those future-tense things happen and I’ll continue to tell you how sh*tty it is for the gays who live here NOW.
“will be”
“is
Try hard to get this concept, k?
Priya Lynn
June 7th, 2010
Candace in your context there is no distinction between nothing is counterproductive and nothing will be counterproductive. If you had said nothing has been counterproductive then you might have had a point. As it is the way you said it its implicit that nothing can be counterproductive to the anti-gay cause in Florida and that is nonsense.
Burr
August 10th, 2010
Looks like he’s doubling down on his idiocy.
McCollum: Ban gays from being foster parents
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