Former British Prime Minister and recently converted Catholic Tony Blair provides a little bit of education to the Pope in the latest issue of Attitude magazine, which I am sure the Pope is a loyal subscriber.

Organized religions face the same dilemma as political parties when faced with changed circumstances. You can either A: Hold on to your core vote, basically, you know, say ‘Look let’s not break out because if we break out we might lose what we’ve got, and at least we’ve got what we’ve got so let’s keep it’. Or B: You say ‘let’s accept that the world is changing, and let us work out how we can lead that change and actually reach out’.
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“There is a huge generational difference here,” he said. “There’s probably that same fear amongst religious leaders that if you concede ground on [homosexuality], because attitudes and thinking evolve over time, where does that end? You’d start having to rethink many, many things.” He added: “If you went and asked the [ordinary Catholic] congregation, I think you’d find that their faith is not to be found in those types of entrenched attitudes.”

I suspect that if Blair had not played opposite George Bush during the Iraq war, we’d all have a far different opinion of him now.

The National Organization for Marriage is launching a nation-wide TV campaign against gay marriage starting in New York, Rhode Island and California. The ominous ad promises a “gathering storm” where freedoms are be taken away, churches punished, and schools are allowed to teach that gay marriage is “okay.” Watch.

Where marriage equality opponents see a gathering storm, the rest of us see the clouds breaking… and it’s a beautiful sight.

First openly gay Iowa state senator Matt McCoy remarks on today’s landmark decision, describing it as a “Red letter day for the state of Iowa.” McCoy goes on to say that he views the issue as settled, noting Iowa’s long history of civil rights firsts and that it cannot be easily be undone (unlike California) thanks to Iowa’s rigorous legislative and judicial processes.

Will today’s events impact the pending decision of the California Supreme Court on Proposition 8?

That’s right. As reported by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), the number of hate groups have grown from 602 to 926 since the year 2000. The highest concentration not surprisingly falls below the Mason Dixon line, and unfortunately, my own home state of California with 88 groups.

From the SPLC Report…

As in recent years, hate groups were animated by the national immigration debate. But two new forces also drove them in 2008: the worsening recession, and Barack Obama’s successful campaign to become the nation’s first black president. Officials reported that Obama had received more threats than any other presidential candidate in memory, and several white supremacists were arrested for saying they would assassinate him or allegedly plotting to do so.

While the vast majority of hate groups groups are comprised of neo-Nazis, white nationalists, skins heads and the KKK, some have made it their mission to target and vilify the LGBT community as well. Those include…

• Traditional Values Coalition – Anaheim CA
• Abiding Truth Ministries – Temecula, CA
• Family Research Council – Colorado Springs, CO
• Traditional Values Coalition – Washington D.C.
• Illinois Family Institute – Carol Stream, IL
• Heterosexuals Organized for a Moral Environment – Downers Grove, IL
• Westboro Baptist Church – Topeka, KS
• The School of Christian Activism – Springfield, MA
• Mass Resistance – Waltham, MA
• Watchman on the Walls – Seattle, WA

Noticeably absent from the list…

• The American Family Association – Tupelo, MS
• Focus on the Family – Colorado Springs, CO
• Americans for Truth – Naperville, IL
• Concerned Women for America- Washington, D.C.

It’s hard for me not to believe that the rise in the number of hate groups, or at least a rise in their membership, has been fueled in part by anti-muslim sentiment after 9/11, the LGBT community demanding equality, and stoking the fires of  hard religious right leading up the election.

And sure, I definitely blame the Bush administration, which allowed an environment of hate, intolerance and economic suffering to grow and fester during his watch, allowing hate groups to flourish. Need we be reminded of the hate we witnessed during the end of the Presidential campaign?