Is Tony Perkins Threatening to Sue Me?

Comments

Tony. You've just been bitch-slapped through the nine circles of hell. Your reaction?

milemarker on October 3, 2012 at 4:00 PM

This may brand me as evil, or something. I volunteer to toss/read to toddlers at my church's daycare. Right now in the toddler room we have two kids with two daddies and boy/girl twins with two mommies. People who shout at each other about theory and hypotheticals and crazy-ass theology just bore the hell out of me. Real life is better.

tdalec on October 3, 2012 at 4:01 PM

Keep it up! Keep it up! If every other post on Slog was this same rant I wouldn't complain.

ingopixel on October 3, 2012 at 4:12 PM

I want to be in the front row in the courtroom, to witness that trial. Watching bigots get their asses handed to them is one of my favorite things.

SeattleKim on October 3, 2012 at 4:12 PM

Why are these people so irritated about gay marriage? According to their own stories, Jesus had two dads, and he turned out to be the savior of humanity.

Shaman on October 3, 2012 at 4:15 PM

I hereby offer to represent Dan pro bono in the unlikely event the despicable Tony Perkins is stupid enough to actually sue Dan.

Mike121 on October 3, 2012 at 4:16 PM

Keep fighting the good fight, Dan.

MLM on October 3, 2012 at 4:22 PM

Punching the nose of a bully does not make you a bully.
Keep punching, Dan.

Sa-Spence on October 3, 2012 at 4:23 PM

I hate biggoted small minded educated fools who think that God is on their side, they r the most dangerous people of all...........I was always taught that opinions r like assholes, everybody has one. Seemingly Tony speaks thru his,

on October 3, 2012 at 4:25 PM

I'd love to see Perkins take this to court. It would be even better if families who have suffered due to the FRCs hate-speech, countersued and drained the FRC coffers.

KaraC on October 3, 2012 at 4:25 PM

"This is the bottom line, Mike: is that if you don't embrace and celebrate homosexuality and everything associated with it, then you are intolerant."

Yeah ok?

"And the truth of the matter is, let's just be very, very truthful, and that's what we deal in is the truth"

Circular reasoning has always been a strong point of the Christian Taliban.

on October 3, 2012 at 4:32 PM

What would they sue you for?

Calling them monstrous assholes?

michael strangeways on October 3, 2012 at 4:37 PM

Okay, so Tony Perkins believes Dan Savage is wrong, immoral, 180 degrees opposite from his values and positions, and profoundly unhappy. Let's suppose all of that is true. Is it even still, any of Tony Perkins business? Isn't this country built on the pursuit of happiness, or even unhappiness, if that's the kind of happy you're hoping for? He's going to sue Dan for basically criticizing a publicly held opinion? Jeez, why doesn't Dan sue YOU for saying that he's an unhappy, freedom hating fag-meenie? Oh yeah, because he really could care less about you, your beliefs, no matter how fucked up he found them, until you started trying to take away his rights. Tony, the day that you stop trying to change the laws is the day Dan never gives you another thought.

MinnySota on October 3, 2012 at 4:49 PM

DEMAND a public televised trial Dan and NO SETTLEMENT!!!

Make this little prick sweat!!!

Cato the Younger Younger on October 3, 2012 at 4:51 PM

12: Homophobes, like most spoiled wimps, think that the entire world revolves around them. Therefore, "he called me names after I called for his extermination and it made me feel bad" is a lawsuit-worthy offense in their minds.

Bonefish on October 3, 2012 at 4:52 PM

So, wait. Perkins objects to being called "intolerant?" But that's exactly what he is. He does not tolerate gayness. Why is he bothered by that?

TVDinner on October 3, 2012 at 4:52 PM

Oh..and Dan counter-sue for damages..they've got deep pockets.

Cato the Younger Younger on October 3, 2012 at 4:52 PM

Dan, I love you a little more every day.

That pic of you with Huckabee, though? Shudder.

Velvetbabe on October 3, 2012 at 4:57 PM

*And* don't forget atheist! Surely that earns you another (de)merit badge on your proudly sported Satanist vest. I'm sure he'd try to sue you for that, too, if he could.

emma's bee on October 3, 2012 at 5:01 PM

In my state, in order to sue for libel or slander, you have to be able to demonstrate damages. So what damages can Tony Perkins claim to have incurred? Has he lost his job? No. Is he less employable? No--some right-wing nut job outfit will always be willingto take him on. Can he demonstrate loss on income? He's probably using Dan's name in a fund-raising letter sent out by email and snail mail, even as we speak.

Clayton on October 3, 2012 at 5:02 PM

tony perkins does sure know what god had in mind when it created its peeps+things. All these f-ing religicrazed peeps talk with such certainty about what their god had in mind that you would think they were present at the time of creation. The idiots fail to acknowledge that if god created everything and everyone, it is all powerful at all times, all knowing at all times, all present at all times so on and so forth, then everything and anything is under god's control and oversight. So, in that case, god, who according to religicrazy, is a jealous god and a proud god, would turn the likes of tony perkins to dust when such idiots are discrediting/disrespecting/abusing god's creations ( humans, nature, etc). tony perkins is not only a hateful bigot, he is also a delusional to think that he knows and understands god's plan and why it created all of us the way we are. these kind of peeps are not only bigots towards LGBTQ people, they are also arrogant and condescending towards their god they so purport to love and live by. but god doesn't exist ( and I express my thoughts w/ the same certainty religicrazy scream from the top of their lungs that god exist), so in that case they are just bigoted hateful idiots.

on October 3, 2012 at 5:21 PM

@21,

It's my understanding that proof of damages is even more difficult when the slanderee is a public figure, and Perkins definitely qualifies.

Even still, anything that Dan said about him is obviously Dan's own personal belief. Personal beliefs about the behaviors and motives of public figures are protected speech and don't qualify as slander. That's why you very rarely see successful slander/libel suits by public figures. The only one I can think of is Falwell's, and we all know how that turned out.

keshmeshi on October 3, 2012 at 5:40 PM

This is what results when your mommy names you for a famous gay actor of the time (1963), and you spend all of your time trying to live down "Glee" taunts of being called Norman Bates, the guy who kept his dead mother in a rocking chair.

Rhett Oracle on October 3, 2012 at 5:42 PM

Keep on talking Dan. You are on the front line for all our civil liberties and we appreciate it!

(Your Iraq thing was still still stupid and xenophobic, but you've grown!)

cracked on October 3, 2012 at 5:44 PM

@16: In his universe he thinks he is being tolerant. Intolerant would be murdering all the homos. See, he tolerates that they live and breathe.

stirwise on October 3, 2012 at 5:55 PM

The satanists I have met are pretty nice people.

TheLastComment on October 3, 2012 at 6:02 PM

Dan, you need to ask your friend Alice Dreger (who IMO is amazingly thorough and yet easy to understand in her lectures) to sit down with Tony Perkins and stuff some science into his head. Because "God" didn't just create "man and woman". There are so many variations of biological gender in humanity. After that bit, perhaps someone else could move onto animal species where homosexuality occurs naturally. Though I'd bet Mr. Perkins would just stuff his fingers in his ears and sing, "La-la-la. I can't hear what you're saying." IOW, behaving like a spoiled child.

Helenka (also a Canuck) on October 3, 2012 at 7:07 PM

Mr. Perkins, here's something from a book (it's not the bible, so I assume you've never read it.) It's called a dictionary. There are three words that have somewhat similar meanings (not really but okay) and you seem to think they're interchangeable. They are not. Let's clear this up.

Embrace: to take or receive gladly or eagerly; accept willingly: to embrace an idea.

Celebrate:to praise widely or to present to widespread and favorable public notice,

Accept: to agree or consent to; accede to

You see, they almost seem interchangeable but using them at the wrong time could make you sound like a hyperbolic douchebag. Gays don't want you to embrace them, or celebrate them, that's not what this is about.

What we want (need? deserve?) is for you to accept the fact that we are human beings with rights and freedoms just like you!

Hope this helps.

Pick1 on October 3, 2012 at 8:37 PM

Lawsuit? Puh-lease. Tony Perkins NEEDS you, Dan. He can only rattle his saber for so long before he needs a tangible opponent to point to - to show that he's not just tilting at windmills. And Huckabee is a sycophant for whoever comes on his show and makes it seem "lively" and stirs up his viewers. They both need you to try to remain relevant.

lawgeek on October 3, 2012 at 8:40 PM

@22 Can we please stop using "peeps" instead of people. It's only one more character. We are not marshmellow chicks. We are human beings

randomitis on October 3, 2012 at 10:34 PM

This fantastic blog post explains the problem perfectly I think.

http://weeklysift.com/2012/09/10/the-dis…

They feel like their world is forcibly being pulled apart, like any number of Saturday night activities we terrorist pedophile Satanists might gladly partake in. It doesn't matter to them if they're "right" or "wrong", in their outdated paradigm they are right, and they're angry they don't get to keep living the same confortable, bigoted life they've been living.

ace9415 on October 4, 2012 at 1:59 AM

Awesommme!

But "we are pursuing everything possible to deal with him because he is out of control" sounds a bit scary. It's heartening that the worst you guys imagine is a lawsuite.

@25 what Iraq/xenophobic thing?

fahima on October 4, 2012 at 5:30 AM

As parents of a gay child we love more than life itself, my husband and I will camp at the courthouse steps in order to get a front row seat to watch this horrible man try to defend his vile ways. And as a PFLAG facilitator who tends to the collateral damage of this man's pure hatred, I will stare this evil man into hell where he belongs. Go ahead Tony Perkins, make our day, sue Dan Savage. I'd love to see you defend yourself under oath. Maybe you could even take some lessons from those who testified under oath for your side in the Prop 8 trial or ... oh wait -maybe not.

Seething Mom on October 4, 2012 at 8:14 AM

I'd like him to produce the Bible quote that Adam and Eve weren't bisexual. And something that indicates that all of the first generation of their offspring were straight.

No? Then shut up, Tony.

Lymis on October 4, 2012 at 8:23 AM

Yes, please! Please sue Dan and insist that the entire thing be televised. Now, that's some reality tv I would watch!

Houndentenor on October 4, 2012 at 8:54 AM

@35 - at the very least, if you take the Bible completely literally, there were weird sex practices going on outside the Garden of Eden. The Bible only lists Adam and Eve as having two sons...where did everyone else come from??

daphne24 on October 4, 2012 at 8:57 AM

@37....it is my understanding that Adam & Eve not only brought forth the first murderer bu raised Cain to be the prototype for the phrase mother fucker.

TampaDink on October 4, 2012 at 9:54 AM

I am a psychiatrist... and I will hereby swear you have no issues that I would consider necessary of treatment. Perkins and his cronies have obvious feelings of inferiority and use their homophobia/homothropia (hatred of gays) to make them feel stronger and superior.

DrMom1964 on October 4, 2012 at 10:22 AM

I wish I had a seething mom like #34.

santamonicatom on October 4, 2012 at 10:52 AM

Nutjob Christianists hate the idea of gay people being happy and functional.

very bad homo on October 4, 2012 at 11:14 AM

@38 Cain and his mother were a schtup in the wrong direction.

on October 4, 2012 at 11:34 AM

Everything Dan Savage, simmered down into one amazing article. Center of the effing LGBT universe right here. #boom.

TMD59715 on October 4, 2012 at 12:10 PM

you can't libel a public figure. this has been proven again and again and again in cases brought before the supreme court. perkins is not going to sue because his lawyer will tell him it's a lost cause. so don't get your hopes up, folks. there will be no lawsuit and no trial.

scary tyler moore on October 4, 2012 at 1:06 PM

Just wondering in what part of the Bible it gives Tony Perkins the right to pass judgement on other? Maybe he could point out those passages?

reginanjus on October 4, 2012 at 2:06 PM

This would be one of those "bring it on" moments. Or to pick an example from our history and turn it on its head, Tony may want to recall what happened to Oscar Wilde. Wilde sued his lover's dad because dad had called him a "so[m]domite" (dad was a fighter, not a speller). Because this turned out to be true, technically speaking, it was Wilde who wound up losing and in jail. Trot out all the evidence you like on both sides; if there's anyone who's committed a crime it's Perkins and his friends.

on October 4, 2012 at 6:09 PM

Fuck you Tony Perkins and Mike Fuckabee. You bet your unloveable life we're mad. Let me vote on your rights and watch how pissed off you'll get, you sick, Christian bastard.

Twist on October 4, 2012 at 6:21 PM

@44, that's not *quite* true. You can libel a public figure by printing something you know (or should know) to be both untrue and unkind. Celebrities have a higher bar for making a case, but they can. See Carol Burnett v National Enquirer.

clashfan on October 4, 2012 at 7:32 PM

@48, cases like that are the exception, i believe. more lawsuits are dismissed than go to trial because of the burden of proof. perkins would never win, NEVAH.

scary tyler moore on October 4, 2012 at 9:08 PM

Oh, I agree about this case. The only thing Dan said that was untrue ("sits on a pile of dead gay kids") is clearly hyperbole. I was merely quibbling over your comment that a public figure can never be libeled.

clashfan on October 5, 2012 at 1:27 PM

@47 oh but the secular, liberal (satanist) people of the world are *totally* trying to take away the rights of Christians! By removing Pagan Christmas symbols and not allowing schools to have prayer! They can't even use public/government property to endorse their religious commandments anymore!

Also we pose a physical and spiritual threat because God will punish them for tolerating homosexuals. I mean, obviously that's why there are hurricanes...

hexalm on October 5, 2012 at 9:50 PM

Perkins and his ilk are emotional pedophiles, sexually abusing children at their whim. Some people are here to right wrongs, some people are here to wrong rights. You go Dan, never hold back. Jesus was a freedom fighter, the Jewish God is a monster.
Jesus has your back Dan. Do his bidding Dan and bring down godless doctor'in. Jesus wants all of his gay bros and sisters FREE in the love he advocates.

ArcLight1 on October 6, 2012 at 8:28 AM

ArcLight111 on October 6, 2012 at 8:31 AM

I am so glad Tony put Dan in his place. All Dan wants, it seems, is to help people and make them feel better. How sick! People like Dan should be locked away in some kind of camp with barbed wire, and given only a diet of potatoes, or gruel. Compassion must be contained, not celebrated. How can we let healers just walk among us freely? And his head is poisoned by education. He is just a monster. And it gets worse over time. It seems the only thing he cares about is love.

-Satan

Lan on October 6, 2012 at 9:36 AM

So, only marriages that fall under "the way God intended" are valid? My husband and I are hetero, but have decided not to procreate. Does that make our marriage a sham? Good to know. I'll remember that the next time hubby shoves his dick in my ass, because heteros do that, too.

PoopieHead on October 8, 2012 at 4:05 AM

Tony Perkins has a smelly crusty asshole.

ewe on October 14, 2014 at 3:53 PM

Is Tony Perkins Threatening to Sue Me?

Comments

Please wait...

Add a comment

Preview

Editors' Picks

Seattle Needs a Slum

Crystalized in Time

Matthew Mitnick’s Campaign Meltdown

No, Washington Did Not Just Pass a Law Allowing the State to Kidnap and Transgenderify Children

Pulling My Weight with Rain City Fit's Powerlifters

Daddy Was A Bankrobber

Support The Stranger

Comments

Please wait...

Add a comment

Preview

Editors' Picks

Just Can't Get Enough?

Sign up for our newsletter for news recaps, updates, and more!