An edited version of this article appeared in this morning's California Catholic Daily.
On Saturday, September 19, the Diocese of Orange and Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Santa Ana will host a forum called the “Orange County Assembly on Immigration.” The forum will be held at Immaculate Heart of Mary. According to the online invitation, local organizations co-hosting the event include the ACLU of Southern California; CIPC (California Immigration Policy Center) CLUE (Clergy & Laity for Economic Justice) the Diocese of Orange, El Centro Cultural de México en Santa Ana, Immáculate Heart at Mary and Father Ed, OCCCO (Orange County Congregation Community Organization), The Center of OC, and the SEIU.
An agenda of issues to be addressed at the forum is published on the invitation. While most of the items are general, and would seem to be of immediate interest to illegal immigrants, one is astonishing in both its remoteness and incongruous specificity. The agenda is reprinted below, exactly as it appears in the online invitation:
Come and learn about/Venga y aprenda sobre :
• Education/Educación
•The intersectionality between the LGBTQ and Undocumented communities/La interseccionalidad entre las comunidades indocumentada y homosexual
• Know Your Rights/Conoce Tus Derechos
• E-Verify
• Issues that affect our local immigrant communities/Problemas que afectan a nuestra comunidad inmigrante local.
• And much more!/Y mucho más!
The intrusion of the homosexualist agenda into a forum on immigration may seem inexplicable, but the application of the concept of “intersectionality” is a growing tactic of co-option among homosexualist activists. Examples can be easily found online. As recently as November 7, 2011, the LGBT Resource Center of the University of California at Riverside sponsored a lecture called “LGBTIQ & Undocumented Struggle: The Parallels and Intersectionality of Two Movements.” On October 5, 2010, we reported in California Catholic Daily on this trend: ‘Communities of color’ targeted; Homosexual activists to spend $350,000 in attempt to change minority attitudes on natural marriage.” The article documented how “the Horizons Foundation, the nation’s oldest LGBT foundation, is opening up a new front in California’s battle over the definition of marriage. In 2010, Horizons is awarding $350,000 in grants to organizations throughout California to ‘help build bridges and support for same-sex marriage in communities of color.’”
The “Orange County Assembly on Immigration” invitation does not indicate who requested that “The intersectionality between the LGBTQ and Undocumented communities” be included in the agenda. But the presence of the co-host “The Center of OC” is suggestive. The only group with such a name affiliated with the other co-hosts is “The Center Orange County” or “The Center OC.” Those names are accepted shorthand, as its webpage says, for the “Gay and Lesbian Community Services Center of Orange County (The Center Orange County).”
The Center Orange County’s “About Us” page gives a the organization’s mission statement and history:
“The mission of The Center Orange County is to advocate on behalf of the Orange County LGBT community, and to provide services that ensure its wellbeing and positive identity…. The Center Orange County (The Center OC) was established as a volunteer organization in 1971 and incorporated in 1975 as a 501(c)(3) non-profit community based organization. We are one of the oldest gay and lesbian community centers in the United States.”
Affirming the “positive identity” of the LGBT community for The Center OC includes a long-time partnership with leather s/m organizations. A December 2007 calendar page from The Center OC’s website advertises a “BDSM Sampler” offered by a group called the OCLA (Orange Coast Leather Assembly). The page describes the event (partial):
“Created in 1991, Sampler is a weekend event for experts and novices alike, where you can 'sample' BDSM related play and concepts 1-on-1 with noted BDSM authorities.”
The page also stresses the long and close relationship between the OCLA and The Center OC:
“OCLA (Orange County Leather Assembly) is an educational organization and information source for the leather, S/M and fetish community in the Orange County and surrounding area of Southern California. The group is open to adults over 18 years old, regardless of gender or sexual orientation. OCLA has been an outreach program at the Center Orange County for last 15 years.”
Posted by Gibbons J. Cooney
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