Lesbian website retreats from threat

Peter LaBarbera

A lesbian activist who runs the weblog "Pam's House Blend" has banned one of the people who posts on her site after the comments there, which often are bizarre and hateful, suddenly shifted to what could have been perceived as criminally violent recently.

The postings on "House Blend" targeted Peter LaBarbera, the president of the pro-family Americans for Truth, which works to publish a message of hope for those caught in the homosexual lifestyle.

The column posted LaBarbera's home address in a thread titled, "Saturday this and that," and a short time later, a poster identified as "Barry G. Wick" said, "It's across from a park in an area with cul de sacs. I'd bet it's a residence … and across from a park. Snipers take note."

"'Wick' later seemed to suggest that shooting LaBarbera would amount to an act of self-defense, when he wrote: 'Self-defense for gay folks isn't PC, is it? No, we have to be sure that we're victims all the time. … When we start standing up for ourselves, we lose all the status of an under class. I refuse to be part of an underclass. I'm equal. And I'm gonna use any language, even outrageous language, to get my point across. … I'm a citizen … equal, proud, and willing to defend my way of life with my life. …'" according to a statement from Concerned Women for America.

"Later in the same thread 'Wick' made his true intent clear: 'If I were Azerbaijani and living in Russia right now, I'd want to advocate violence against skinheads … [LaBarbera] and others like him ought to know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, what future awaits them from a cadre of selected defenders willing to give up everything in order to protect the lives of gay and lesbian citizens. The greatest thing ever to happen to the [Martin Luther King] movement was the Black Panthers. Americans were shocked by an open display of firearms and Black Pride … Pushing back verbally … or with selected action isn't dishonorable, it's necessary,'" the statement said.

LaBarbera indicated that he had been in touch with both the FBI and the North Carolina Attorney General’s Office, because of the effect on his family. "This is nothing short of cyber-terrorism," said Matt Barber, CWA's policy director for cultural issues.

After the apparent threats were publicized, Pam Spaulding, the lesbian activist who runs the site, sent LaBarbera an e-mail, "stating that she did not know that the violence-justifying posts against me were on her blog," LaBarbera noted.

"She has removed those posts, for which we are grateful. At Americans For Truth, we believe that although our disagreements with pro-homosexual activists are great, we can and should debate the issue of homosexuality with civility, and without resorting to name-calling," LaBarbera said.

In her message to LaBarbera, Spaulding said she has "never advocated for threatening physical harm to anyone" and "our families (whether you regard mine as such or not) have a right to be safe."

On her blog she said whether the threats were real or not is irrelevant and "reprehensible."

"It's not what this community is about," she said.

She said the commenter is question, Barry Wick, was banned.

"Please pray for Spaulding, 'Barry Wick,' and all those whose embrace of homosexuality has led them to be consumed by hatred toward Christians and others who defend natural sexuality and marriage," LaBarbera said.

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