VIRGINIA: State Board Votes 7-2 Against Allowing Gay Couples To Adopt

Following the advice of anti-gay Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, a state board has voted 7-2 against allowing gay couples to adopt.

The State Board of Social Services has voted overwhelmingly against new adoption rules that some say would allow same-sex couples to adopt in the state for the first time. In a 7-2 vote Wednesday afternoon, the board opted against the new rules, first proposed by former governor Tim Kaine. In Virginia, only married couples and single men and women, regardless of sexual orientation, can adopt. The proposed changes would require private and faith-based groups, such as Catholic Charities and Jewish Family Services, to allow gay parents to adopt or foster children.

Democrats hold a 5-4 majority on the board.

VIRGINIA: Schools Block Pro-Gay Websites, Allow "Ex-Gay" Hate Sites

The ACLU has given Virginia's Prince William County two weeks to respond to their demand that schools stop blocking pro-LGBT youth websites.

The ACLU recognizes the need to screen out the heavy-duty adult stuff, their Virginia executive director Kent Willis said Tuesday. “But if you’re going to allow the Key Club and many other organizations to access the Internet, then you have to allow the gay and lesbian clubs to do so too.” The ACLU’s letter to Prince William says their system blocks out sites such as the Gay Lesbian and Straight Education Network, Day of Silence and It Gets Better, which provide support and resources for homosexual students. But it allows access to sites such as People Can Change, Exodus International and Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays, which all advocate for changing from gay to straight.

The ACLU has sent the same letter to school districts in Michigan, Texas, and Pennsylvania - all of whom use the same blocking service as Prince William County.

VIRGINIA: Anti-Gay Christianists Hold Conference On How To Hate More

Many of the anti-gay asshats regularly covered here on JMG were gathered at Liberty University this weekend for a strategizing session titled "The Awakening."

For the panelists, the biggest “gay threat” is not just over Christian ideology but over national security. Matt Barber, the panel’s moderator and a dean at Liberty University, said he served in the military for 12 years. Barber made a case that promoting gays in the military presents a national threat because most gay military men will be more focused on their attraction to other men than on their military duties, saying it comes down to the soldier who “has your back or the one who wants to rub it.” He also brought up the argument that the high rate of HIV and AIDS in the gay community presents a health risk when it comes to battlefield transfusions. “Homosexuality is the greatest threat to the criminalization of Christianity,” said Robert Knight, executive director for the American Civil Rights Union and a former editor of the Los Angeles Times.

In the clip below, anti-gay activist Ryan Sorba urges attendees to stop using the word "gay."