MISSOURI: Chamber Of Commerce Cancels Speech By Chick-Fil-A President

Responding to complaints from LGBT activists, a St. Louis-area chamber of commerce has canceled a planned speech by Chick-Fil-A president Dan Cathy over his company's affiliation with the Family Resource Institute, an SPLC-certified hate group.

The decision to cancel Cathy's March 18 presentation here was made after PROMO, a statewide organization that advocates for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality, protested his appearance and asked Focus and the Chamber of Commerce to reconsider. Ellen Gale, the head of the chamber, said today that when the groups agreed to co-sponsor Cathy's appearance, they had no idea he held controversial views. We are a pro-diversity culture here and certainly don't want to offend anyone," Gale said. "We didn't know anything about this when he was booked." Focus said in a statement that inclusion and acceptance for all people in the community is a core principal of the organization.

Stand by for the screams of outrage about those damned homofascists.

(Tipped by JMG reader Jeff)

Teabagger Rep. Vicky Harzler (R-MO) Plans Bill Mandating Enforcement Of DOMA

Even though there's no current plan to stop enforcing DOMA, the lying teabaggers are acting like there is. Right Wing Watch tips us to this announcement on the Eagle Forum blog by Tea Party-backed freshman GOP Rep. Vicky Hartzler:

Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler (MO-4) is the lead sponsor of legislation calling on President Obama and his Department of Justice to respect the law and enforce the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). “President Obama’s decision to order his Justice Department to stop defending DOMA is not a surprise but it is disappointing,” Hartzler said. “Once we start going down the road of selectively enforcing our laws we are headed for chaos. President Obama took an oath to uphold the laws of the United States and he is breaking his word to the American people.” “The 1996 Defense of Marriage Act was enacted through large majority votes in both the House and Senate and was signed into law by President Clinton,” added Hartzler. “President Obama is subverting the will of the representatives of the people. The good citizens of the 4th Congressional District are expected to follow the law and President Obama should not put himself above the law."

Hartzler is the former spokesbigot for the Missouri Coalition to Defend Marriage.