Truth Behind Rock-n-Roll: “Christian” Rocker hired hitman to kill his wife?!

As I Lay Dying’s Tim Lambesis charged with seeking to have his wife killed

By Tom Watkins, CNN

The lead singer of the metal band As I Lay Dying has been arrested and charged with seeking to have his wife killed, the  San Diego County Sherrif’s Department said. Authorities said Tuesday that Tim Lambesis tried to contract an undercover detective posing as a killer for hire to murder his estranged wife, who lives in Encinitas, California. Arraignment was set for Thursday afternoon at North Division Court in Vista.

The department said it learned on May 2 that Lambesis, 32, had asked someone to carry out the killing and an investigation was initiated. The investigation culminated Tuesday afternoon, “when Lambesis solicited an undercover detective to kill his wife,” it said. He was arrested without incident at a business in Oceanside and taken to the Encinitas Station and booked into the Vista Detention Facility.

Last September, Meggan Lambesis filed with San Diego Superior Court to have the marriage dissolved.

The band issued a statement Wednesday through its record label, Metal Blade, to its fans saying: “As we post this, the legal process is taking it’s course and we have no more information than you do. There are many unanswered questions, and the situation will become clearer in the coming days and weeks. We’ll keep you informed as best we can.

“Our thoughts right now are with Tim, his family, and with everyone else affected by this terrible situation.”

As I Lay Dying was nominated in 2008 for a Grammy Award for best metal performance. During the decade since it was formed, the band has released seven studio albums and a live CD, according to its website.

Asked last year in an interview with Hard Noise Online Radio about how his time on the road affected his home life, Lambesis said, “If there was a way to be home but still make a living playing music, I would do that in a heartbeat.

“But the catch is that, as a profession, this is what I’m passionate about. And then my personal life, what I’m passionate about is my loved ones back home. So, you know, those two have a conflict with each other. The only thing I can do is find a balance where, if I am gone a month on tour, then I find a month to be home and just kind of even it out that way.”

Asked in January about whether his group was a Christian metal band, he told Noise Creep  that the band had decided not to discuss “the spiritual topic” so that listeners would focus on their music.”We didn’t preach at our shows, our goal has always been to just write the best music we can write,” he said. “Of course religion has some influence on the things that we write about just like all of our life experiences do but as a band, we want to be judged on the music rather than what our personal beliefs are.”

The Truth Behind Abortion: House of Horrors 2: graphic photos show Texas abortionist killed living babies, say nurses

Douglas Karpen stands accused by former employees of brutally murdering numerous babies born alive.

BY OPERATION RESCUE STAFF

 Houston, TX (OperationRescue.org) – After the conviction of late-term abortionist Kermit Gosnell on murder charges, Operation Rescue has been repeatedly asked if there is any evidence that similar practices exist at abortion clinics elsewhere in the nation. That documentation has now been released.Operation Rescue arranged to have Life Dynamics, Inc. produce a video interview, released yesterday, with three informants who came to Operation Rescue as the result of our Abortion Whistleblowers Program, which offers a reward of $25,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of abortionists who are breaking the law.The three informants, Deborah Edge, Gigi Aguliar, and Krystal Rodriguez, have come forward to tell of their horrific experiences working for abortionist Douglas Karpen, at one of three of his Texas abortion clinics, the Aaron Women’s Clinic in Houston. A fourth informant has co-operated with Operation Rescue, filing an affidavit about her experiences, but at this time remains anonymous.As shocking as their stories are, these women did more than just talk; they brought forward evidence of illegal late-term abortions in the form of photos taken on their cell phones at the Karpen’s clinic on Schumacher Lane in Houston.

The photos were scandalous. They depicted two babies aborted well beyond the legal limit of 24 weeks in Texas. Their necks had been cut.

“The photos show babies that are huge, with gashes in their necks, indicating that these babies were likely born alive, then killed, just as Kermit Gosnell did at his ‘House of Horrors’ clinic in Philadelphia,” said Troy Newman, President of Operation Rescue. “In fact, there are numerous similarities between Karpen and the Gosnell case, including the disregarding of complaints by the authorities that allowed both men to continue their illegal operations.”

Signs of life

In both cases, the babies’ skin is pink, noting a lack of masceration, an early form of decomposition that happens in babies that die in the womb. Massive bruising on the extremities of one of the babies indicates the baby’s heart was pulsing with life when the trauma was inflicted, likely when grasping instruments latched on to bring the baby down into the birth canal. The eyes of the other child are open in a nightmarish expression of pain, revealing development greater than 26-28 weeks. Both sets of photos were taken sometime in 2011.

The video interview of the three informants verified the worst.

“When he did an abortion, especially an over 20 week abortion, most of the time the fetus would come completely out before he cut the spinal cord or he introduced one of the instruments into the soft spot of the fetus, in order to kill the fetus,” said Deborah Edge, who worked as a surgical assistant for Karpen for about 15 years until leaving in March, 2011.

“I thought, well, it’s an abortion you know, that’s what he does, but I wasn’t aware that it was illegal…Most of the time we would see him where the fetus would come completely out and of course, the fetus would still be alive,” Edge continued.

How often did this happen?

“I think every morning I saw several, on several occasions,” she said. “If we had 20-something patients, of course ten, or twelve, or fifteen patients would be large procedures, and out of those large procedures, I’m pretty sure that I was seeing at least three or four fetuses that were completely delivered in some way or another,” said Edge, acknowledging that these babies would be alive.

She described how some babies would emerge too soon and would be alive, moving, and breathing. She also told of how Karpen would sometimes deliver the babies feet first with the toes wiggling until he stabbed them with a surgical implement. At the moment the toes would suddenly splay out before going limp. Sometimes he would kill the babies by “twisting the head off the neck,” according to Edge.

Women would be given doses of Cytotec, a drug that causes strong and unpredictable uterine contractions, and would deliver while they were waiting in line to see Karpen, some in toilets, and in one case in the hallway.

“He just picked it up with one of those [chux] pads and put it in the trash bag,” said Krystal Rodriguez of the baby born in the hallway.

“As long as the patient had the cash, he was going to do it past 25 weeks,” she said.

But not all the babies came out intact. When there was difficulty, Karpen would dismember them, a process that was, according to the surgical assistant Deborah Edge, a bloody mess.

“Sometimes he couldn’t get the fetus out” she explained. “He would yank pieces – piece by piece – when they were oversize. And I’m talking about the whole floor dirty. I’m talking about me drenched in blood.”

Undercover investigation and a troubled past

It all began in early 2011, when Operation Rescue was conducting an undercover investigation of several Texas abortion clinics when it discovered that Karpen appeared to be violating the Texas informed consent law that required that abortionists give the state-mandated information personally on patient conference calls set up for that purpose. In addition to the improper use of a recording, he was not on the line to answer questions, as the law required. Operation Rescue’s Cheryl Sullenger filed a complaint with the Texas Medical Board concerning this violation.

Sullenger submitted a statement to the TMB noting Karpen’s documented history of problems, including series of botched abortions stretching back to 1988 when 15-year old Denise Montoya hemorrhaged and died after a 26-week abortion done by Karpen.

She told the TMB of a documented incident on February 6, 2005, when a sewer broke at Karpen’s Texas Ambulatory Surgical Center, located at 2421 N. Shepherd in Houston, causing sewage to spill into the parking lot of a neighboring car dealership. Maribeth Smith, an employee of the car dealership said she is convinced she saw human body parts mixed in with the sewage. She took photographs, believing the human tissue came from the clinic.

“Whether it’s legal or not, it’s not right,” Smith said. “This whole area is nothing but raw sewage and bloody pieces. There were little legs coming out from one side.”

A Health Department worker called 911 to report a second spill at the same abortion clinic. When asked who she was with she told the dispatcher, “Health Department…and we handle normal medical waste, but this is beyond us. He says he can see fetuses and fingers and everything.” (Emphasis in transcript.)

Sullenger hoped that the history of documented abuses would help convince the TMB to act swiftly to protect the public.

Whistleblower comes forward

The Truth Behind Abortion: Convicted Pennsylvania abortion doctor gets life in prison

In this March 8, 2010 photo, Dr. Kermit Gosnell is seen during an interview with the Philadelphia Daily News at his attorney’s office in Philadelphia. Gosnell, an abortion doctor who catered to minorities, immigrants and poor women at the Women’s Medical Society, goes on trial Monday, March 18, 2013, on eight counts of murder, but prosecutors say he’s not the only person to blame for the deaths. (AP Photo/Philadelphia Daily News, Yong Kim) MANDATORY CREDIT, NO SALES

Associated Press Foxnews.com

PHILADELPHIA –  An abortion doctor convicted of killing three babies born alive at his rogue clinic dodged a possible death sentence on Tuesday in a hasty post-verdict deal with prosecutors.

Dr. Kermit Gosnell waived his right to appeal in exchange for a sentence of life without parole. Gosnell, 72, was convicted Monday of first-degree murder in a case that became a flashpoint in the nation’s abortion debate.

Former clinic employees testified that Gosnell routinely performed illegal abortions past Pennsylvania’s 24-week limit, that he delivered babies who were still moving, whimpering or breathing, and that he and his assistants dispatched the newborns by “snipping” their spines, as he referred to it.

Prosecutors had been seeking the death penalty because Gosnell killed more than one person and his victims were especially vulnerable given their age. But Gosnell’s own advanced age had made it unlikely he would ever be executed before his appeals ran out.

Gosnell’s lawyer, Jack McMahon, said his client accepts the verdict and isn’t sorry he went to trial. He said Gosnell gave up a somewhat better deal early on but wanted to air the issues in court and is satisfied that he did so.

“He wanted this case aired out in a courtroom and it got aired out in a courtroom in a fair way. And now he’s accepting what will happen. He’s an intelligent guy,” said McMahon, who said Gosnell would now plead to federal drug charges that are still pending.

The sentencing deal, reached after hours of terse negotiations, spares Gosnell’s family the task of pleading for his life in court, McMahon said. Gosnell has six children, the youngest of them a teenager born to his third wife, who has also pleaded guilty in the case.

“He’s a proud man. To bring his young family into court was something he did not want to do,” McMahon said.

Gosnell was instead sentenced Tuesday to two life sentences for two of the infant deaths. He faces a mandatory third life term Wednesday in the third death, when he will also be formally sentenced in the overdose death of a patient and hundreds of lesser charges.

A 2011 grand jury investigation into Gosnell’s alleged prescription drug trafficking led to the gruesome findings about his abortion clinic. An FBI raid had turned up 47 aborted fetuses stored in clinic freezers, jars of tiny severed feet, bloodstained furniture and dirty medical instruments, along with cats roaming the premises.

Prosecution experts said one teen was nearly 30 weeks pregnant when Gosnell aborted her fetus, and then allegedly joked the baby was so big it could “walk to the bus.” A second baby was said to be alive for about 20 minutes before a clinic worker snipped the neck. A third was born in a toilet and was moving before another clinic employee severed the spinal cord, according to testimony.

A fourth baby let out a whimper before Gosnell cut the neck, prosecutors alleged. Gosnell was acquitted in that baby’s death, the only one of the four in which no one testified to seeing the baby killed.

McMahon has argued that none of the fetuses was born alive and that any movements were posthumous twitching or spasms.

The defense also contended that the 2009 death of 41-year-old Karnamaya Mongar of Woodbridge, Va., a Bhutanese immigrant who had been given repeated doses of Demerol and other powerful drugs to sedate her and induce labor, was caused by unforeseen complications and did not amount to murder, as prosecutors charged.

“I wanted to be an effective, positive force in the minority community,” Gosnell told The Philadelphia Daily News in a 2010 interview, when he predicted he would be “vindicated.”

He declined to offer any remarks in court Tuesday to Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey Minehart but thanked McMahon and said he was “very satisfied” with his legal representation.

Prosecutors continued to refrain from commenting on the case, citing a gag order that is expected to be lifted Wednesday when the sentencing concludes.

Pennsylvania authorities had failed to conduct routine inspections of all its abortion clinics for 15 years by the time Gosnell’s facility was raided in 2010. In the scandal’s aftermath, two top state health officials were fired, and Pennsylvania imposed tougher rules for clinics.

Gosnell was also convicted of infanticide, racketeering and more than 200 counts of violating Pennsylvania’s abortion laws by performing third-term abortions or failing to counsel women 24 hours in advance.

Error of man: Why haven’t these homosexual stories been reported?

Why haven’t these homosexual stories been reported?

By Bradlee Dean, Political Outcast

The Jason Collins “I’m gay . . . I’m out . . . I’m proud . . .  and I play basketball” story is all over the internet. There are other homosexual stories that barely get a mention. Why? Because they go against the gay narrative.

Recently, Family Research Council released video footage of Floyd Corkins, the homosexual activist who walked into the lobby of the Family Research Council in August 2012 with a semi-automatic pistol and a backpack filled with 100 rounds of ammunition and 15 Chick-fil-A sandwiches. Corkins shot the Family Research Council’s security guard, Leo Johnson, who then successfully subdued him before he was taken into custody.

During an FBI interrogation, Corkins stated that he intended to “kill as many as possible and smear the Chick-fil-A sandwiches in victims’ faces.”

Prosecutors said that Corkins planned to leave FRC after the attack and go to another conservative group to continue the reign of terror. A handwritten list of three other groups was found with Corkins’ belongings. An investigation of Corkins’ computer found that he identified his targets on the Southern Poverty Law Center’s website. Even after the shooting at the FRC, the SPLC went so far as to put an article on the front page of their website in an attempt to heighten the FRC’s label as a hate group. Another example of assault by the pro-homosexual lobby happened this week.

The head of the Catholic Church in Belgium, Archbishop Andre-Joseph Leonard, was participating in a debate on blasphemy laws at the ULB University in Brussels. While he was seated with his eyes closed in prayer, four topless women, representing the pro-abortion and homosexual group FEMEN, began assaulting the archbishop with shouts and curses while dousing him with water in bottles shaped like the Virgin Mary. The women disrobed to reveal black-painted mockery slogans on their bare chests and backs, such as ‘my body my rules,’ and anus dei is coming.’ They also held signs reading ‘stop homophobia’ (Gal. 6). Why the attacks? Let’s look behind the façade.

Back in 1987, the Gay Manifesto was published by Michael Swift in the Gay Community News on February 15–21, 1987. It was also interjected into the Congressional Record (omitting the preface, which I have added below), showing that Congress is well aware of this content. When the homosexual radicals became aware that people were alarmed by this homosexual manifesto, they looked for something to cover their tracks. So they reverted to saying that the homosexual manifesto was merely a “satire” rather than a reality.

Swift’s original preface stated: “This essay is an outré, madness, a tragic, cruel fantasy, an eruption of inner rage, on how the oppressed desperately dream of being the oppressor.” I lay this to your candor. You decide if this is merely a satire, or if this is actually being played out in reality. Michael Swift’s Homosexual Manifesto (Warning: shocking and offensive content below): //end //

According to the President and his administration:

Error of Man: How a Homeschool Mom Fought Back Against CPS and Won Her Daughter Back

Attorney Allison Folmar (left) and Detroit mother Maryanne Godboldo (right)

by Kelly Patricia O’Meara Citizens Commission on Human Rights International Healthimpactnews.com

It has been said that “heroes are ordinary people who make themselves extraordinary.”

Maryanne Godboldo and Allison Folmar are extraordinary women. Their names may not elicit immediate recognition by the masses but it is because of their belief in the right of parents—not the state—to decide whether to medicate a child, that their struggle will protect thousands of children who otherwise would have become victims of deeply flawed State Child Protective Services policies.

It’s been two years since Detroit mother, Maryanne Godboldo, withstood an armed assault by a SWAT team and a tank, assault weapons and helicopter, accouterments worthy of a Die Hard film, determined to kidnap, by force, her then 13-year old daughter, Ariana. The alleged crime? Godboldo refused to give Ariana harmful psychiatric drugs.

The 55-year old Godboldo, after an hours-long standoff, gave herself up to police, was taken into custody  and charged with multiple felony counts.Worse, though, was that 13-year old Ariana was taken into state custody while Godboldo’s case worked its way through the court system.

Godboldo’s attorney, Allison Folmar, firmly believed in Godboldo’s parental rights and never wavered in her support. Much to her credit, Folmar has represented Godboldo pro-bono throughout the judicial proceedings and was pleased when, in August of 2011, all charges were dropped against Godboldo.

But that was just the first hurdle. It wasn’t until five weeks later that Ariana was returned to Godboldo, and then only after three Michigan courts had determined that Godboldo’s refusal to drug her child was completely legal.

In fact, from beginning to end of the Godboldo saga, no part of the assault had been legal. Child Protective Services did not have a legal court order nor warrant to forcibly remove Ariana from her home. Rather, a “writ” was issued to CPS with literally a rubber stamp, with no judge actually reviewing the request.

To make matters worse, in initially agreeing to treat Ariana with the state-recommended Risperidone—an extremely dangerous antipsychotic—Godboldo signed an informed consent document guaranteeing her the right to stop the medication at any time. Despite these assurances and the law behind Godboldo, Child Protective Services moved forward with the assault—a State policy that apparently has been terminated.

Photo taken from TV footage of the SWAT team sent to the home of Maryanne Godboldo

Today the Michigan Department of Human Services reports on its website that the reason for Ariana’s removal no longer exists. “Medication – CPS is not responsible for investigating complaints that allege parents are failing or refusing to provide their children with psychotropic medication such as Ritalin.” “The Michigan DHS website is interesting,” says Folmar, “because this is what Maryanne’s case is all about.  The CPS policy at the time of the assault was different.  I can’t help but think that the change is a direct result of this litigation.”

It’s anyone’s guess why Michigan DHS has decided to change its CPS investigation policy, but there is enough startling information about the drugging of children within state programs that one can be sure it is none too soon.

For example, according to a 2012 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report reviewing psychotropic drug prescriptions covered by Medicaid in 2008 for Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Oregon and Texas, “foster children in each of the five states (Maryland’s data was unreliable) were prescribed psychotropic drugs at higher rates than were non-foster children.”

The GAO report further revealed that “foster children in the five states were prescribed psychotropic drugs at rates 2.7 to 4.5 times higher than were non-foster children in Medicaid in 2008 (most recent data) and the rates were higher in each of the age ranges reviewed.”

Additionally, according to the GAO report, children in foster care across the five states were prescribed five or more psychotropic drugs at higher rates than non-foster care children, exceeded the maximum doses at higher rates than non-foster care children and were given to infants (under 1 year old) at higher rates than non-foster care children.

Given the above data, is it any wonder that Godboldo stood up for her daughter? Unfortunately, though, despite having all charges dismissed against her, the Wayne County prosecutor still is looking to take Godboldo to trial.

“They are continuing to try and put Maryanne in prison,” says Folmar, “for standing up and refusing to let police into her home.  We won at the district level and the judge saw the case for what it is… the illegal conduct of police. They had no probable cause and no valid order to enter Maryanne’s home.”

“We need help putting the word out,” says Folmar, “that this case affects everyone. Forcing medication down parents throats and literally the throats of children cannot be tolerated. This is about parents’ rights to be able to protect their children.”

“I think,” says Folmar, “that the continued interest in Maryanne is about them sending a message. They are scrambling for some justification of their wrong-doing.”

“In the end,” says Folmar, “it is a basic human right for parents to choose if they want to medicate their children.  When the state steps in and says ‘hey, mom and dad, we know what’s better for your child,’ that’s wrong. There are too many of these cases where the state believes it knows more than the parents. It isn’t good for the kids, it isn’t good for the parents and it is ripping families apart.”

“I’m happy,” says Folmar, “to represent someone like Maryanne. She stood up and said ‘no, I refuse to harm my child.’”  With respect to CPS and its heavy hand with medication, “It boggles the mind,” says Folmar, “that they are putting kids on medication that they don’t need and is harmful. Maryanne did the right thing to protect her child.”  “How could anyone not support that,” asks Folmar. “Whatever it takes,” says Folmar, “we’ll see this through.”

The Truth Behind Abortion: FDA approves morning-after pill without prescription for girls 15 and older

By Elizabeth Landau, CNN

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Tuesday that it approved the availability of the Plan B One-Step emergency contraception pill without a prescription for women 15 and older.

This move comes just weeks after a federal judge in Brooklyn, New York, ordered the FDA to make the morning-after birth control pill available to women of any age, without a prescription. Tuesday’s FDA announcement, which pertains to an application from Teva Women’s Health, Inc., is not related to that, the FDA said.

“The FDA’s approval of Teva’s current application for Plan B One-Step is independent of that litigation and this decision is not intended to address the judge’s ruling,” the FDA said in a statement.

In early April, the U.S. Justice Department indicated an appeal of the Brooklyn judge’s order was under consideration. “The Department of Justice is reviewing the appellate options and expects to act promptly,” department spokeswoman Allison Price said.

According to the new FDA decision, Plan B One-Step will now be labeled to reflect that proof of age is required to purchase it, and it cannot be sold where age cannot be verified. The packaging will include a product code that prompts the cashier to ask and verify the age of the customer.

The product will be available in retail outlets with pharmacies, but the pill can be sold during non-pharmacy hours, too.

“While we fully support this expansion of access to birth control, we continue to believe that the administration should lift all unnecessary restrictions to emergency contraception, consistent with the prevailing science and medicine,” Planned Parenthood Federation of America President Cecile Richards said Tuesday in a statement.

The FDA decision does not pertain to the two other emergency contraceptive drugs marketed in the United States. Plan B is available from generic manufacturers over-the-counter for women 17 and older and Ella is available by prescription only, for all ages, and prevents pregnancy within five days of unprotected sex or contraceptive failure.

“Research has shown that access to emergency contraceptive products has the potential to further decrease the rate of unintended pregnancies in the United States,” said FDA Commissioner Dr. Margaret A. Hamburg in a statement. “The data reviewed by the agency demonstrated that women 15 years of age and older were able to understand how Plan B One-Step works, how to use it properly, and that it does not prevent the transmission of a sexually transmitted disease.”

None of these products protect against sexually transmitted diseases.

Controversy surrounding emergency contraception in the United States has lasted more than just one morning.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommended last year that oral contraceptives be sold over the counter in an effort to reduce the number of unintended pregnancies in the United States. Opponents of prescription requirements say prescriptions can delay access to the drug.

In 2011, Teva Women’s Health Inc., maker of Plan B One-Step, had asked the FDA to make the drug available without prescription to all sexually active girls and women.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius overruled the FDA’s recommendation in 2011, saying, “I do not believe enough data were presented to support the application.” She mandated requiring a prescription for girls under 17.

In early April, U.S. District Court Judge Edward Korman said in his order, “The decisions of the Secretary with respect to Plan B One-Step and that of the FDA with respect to the Citizen Petition, which it had no choice but to deny, were arbitrary, capricious, and unreasonable.”

Korman’s order sparked praise among supporters of the morning-after pill for all ages, such as the Center for Reproductive Rights, which had launched a relevant lawsuit.

Nancy Northup, the center’s president and CEO, said in a statement about that order: “This landmark court decision has struck a huge blow to the deep-seated discrimination that has for too long denied women access to a full range of safe and effective birth control methods.”

But other groups, including the Family Research Council, expressed concerns about Korman’s order.

“There is a real danger that Plan B may be given to young girls, under coercion or without their consent. The involvement of parents and medical professionals act as a safeguard for these young girls. However, today’s ruling removes these common-sense protections,” Anna Higgins, director of the organization’s Center for Human Dignity, said in a statement.

The FDA approved Plan B in 1999. The key ingredient in Plan B is a synthetic hormone called levonorgestrel.

This drug stops an egg from being released from the ovary, or preventing fertilization of the egg by sperm.

If there has been fertilization, Plan B may prevent a fertilized egg from embedding in the uterus. But if the egg has already been implanted in the uterus, the morning-after pill will not work.

Emergency contraceptives are intended for use within 72 hours after sex but are most effective if taken within 24 hours.

Many developed countries require a prescription for oral contraceptives, including Canada and most of Europe, but other countries sell the pill without a prescription even formally or informally.

A 2012 study in the journal Pediatrics found that there is misinformation about emergency contraception, including about what age women can obtain it without a prescription, and who can take it in general.

The morning-after pill goes for about $50, said Susannah Baruch, interim president and CEO of Reproductive Health Technologies Project.

White House responds to “I’m gay” Collins receives private call from #44

Obama calls Jason Collins, offers support on coming out

By MARY CLARE JALONICK and JOSH LEDERMAN Associated Press

AP White House Correspondent Julie Pace contributed to this report.

A groundbreaking pronouncement from NBA veteran Jason Collins — “I’m gay” — reverberated Monday through Washington, generating accolades from lawmakers on Twitter and a supportive phone call from President Barack Obama.

Hours after Collins disclosed his sexuality in an online article, Obama reached out by phone, expressing his support and telling Collins he was impressed by his courage, said a White House official, who was not authorized to discuss the private call publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Collins, 34, becomes the first active player in one of four major U.S. professional sports leagues to come out as gay. He has played for six teams in 12 seasons, including this past season with the Washington Wizards, and is now a free agent. Collins’ declaration in a first-person account posted on Sports Illustrated’s website garnered particular attention from Democrats, many of whom have recently announced their support for gay marriage despite opposing it in the past. Obama announced his support last year during his re-election campaign.

Organizing for Action, a grassroots group run by Obama loyalists that grew out of his 2012 re-election campaign, offered its support for Collins as well, writing to Collins on Twitter on Monday that the group’s supporters “stand with you today.” And first lady Michelle Obama chimed in on Twitter on Monday afternoon to applaud Collins.

“So proud of you, Jason Collins! This is a huge step forward for our country. We’ve got your back!” the tweet read. It was signed “mo” — signifying that the first lady personally wrote the message.

Former President Bill Clinton also voiced encouragement, releasing a statement that asks fans, NBA colleagues and the media to support and respect him. Clinton said he has known Collins since he attended Stanford University with his daughter Chelsea.

Clinton said Collins’ announcement Monday is an “important moment” for professional sports and the history of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

Collins is “a good man who wants no more than what so many of us seek — to be able to be who we are, to do our work, to build families and to contribute to our communities,” Clinton said. “For so many members of the LGBT community, these simple goals remain elusive.”

Will this be what NBA players wear to the games in the future?  [Man in photo is not NBA Player Jason Collins]

 

Chelsea Clinton also tweeted her support for Collins Monday, saying she was proud of her friend for having the strength and courage to be the first openly gay player in the NBA..

Earlier Monday, White House spokesman Jay Carney said Collins’ decision was another example of progress and evolution in the U.S. as Americans grow more accepting of gay rights and same-sex marriage. He said he hoped the 34-year-old center’s NBA colleagues will also offer support.

“We view that as another example of the progress that has been made and the evolution that has been taking place in this country,” Carney said.

Chad Griffin, the president of Human Rights Campaign, a gay rights group, said Collins has “forever changed the face of sports.”

“No longer will prejudice and fear force gay athletes to remain silent about a fundamental part of their lives,” Griffin said.

The NBA player also received support from Rep. Joe Kennedy III, D-Mass., his college roommate. Kennedy tweeted Monday that “I’ve always been proud to call (Collins) a friend, and I’m even prouder to stand with him today.”

Engaging Culture: ESPN’s Chris Broussard faces media guillotine declaring homosexuality a SIN.

Jason Collins: ESPN anchor Chris Broussard says gay NBA player “not Christian”

By Jeremy Binckes, Digital First Media

On Monday morning, NBA player Jason Collins came out in a Sports Illustrated piece, becoming the first active male athlete in a major sport to declare he was gay. ESPN handled the breaking news by bringing in sportswriter Chris Broussard. Broussard came out saying he did not believe that Collins was a Christian, not simply because he was gay, but because he is “walking in open rebellion to Jesus Christ.”

In Sports Illustrated, Collins wrote:

I’m from a close-knit family. My parents instilled Christian values in me. They taught Sunday school, and I enjoyed lending a hand. I take the teachings of Jesus seriously, particularly the ones that touch on tolerance and understanding. On family trips, my parents made a point to expose us to new things, religious and cultural. In Utah, we visited the Mormon Salt Lake Temple. In Atlanta, the house of Martin Luther King Jr. That early exposure to otherness made me the guy who accepts everyone unconditionally.”

Chris Broussard stands against Homosexuality

►

While everybody is “coming out” Chris Broussard is “going in”!  This is how we engage culture, we speak the TRUTH.  Please pray for Broussard and his family!

Broussards blog after former NBA player John Amaechi came out in 2009