Pay No Attention to the Hatemonger Behind the Curtain

You’ve probably been thinking, hey, what’s Steve Hotze up to these days? The prominent anti-LGBT zealot from Houston has, as the Houston Chronicle noted, been awfully quiet leading up to next week’s referendum to decide the fate of the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance. The silence is unusual for the outspoken Hotze, who last made headlines in August when he went on anti-gay tirade that included a sword — yes, an actual sword — and compared of gay people to Nazis (and demanded that LGBT people be driven from Houston).

Hotze, instead, is letting his money do the talking. Campaign reports examined by the Houston Chronicle show that the group opposing the ordinance has spent about $140,000 more than it has raised. Hotze has made up the deficit by, no joke, putting it on his credit card and extending a $50,000 loan, according to the Chronicle.

But why is Hotze otherwise so quiet? Here’s a possible answer:

Hotze’s less public role in the campaign is a smart strategy, said University of Houston political scientist Brandon Rottinghaus.

Hotze’s long public battle against gay rights could be a liability for the campaign when it comes to attracting more moderate voters, Rottinghaus said.

So because the group opposing the equal rights ordinance doesn’t want to remind voters who Steve Hotze is, let’s remind voter who Steve Hotze is. Here’s just a sampling of what he’s said, including what he thinks about LGBT people, in an audio recording earlier this year during a Texas legislative hearing:

This is the guy opponents of the ordinance are in bed with. If you’re a Houstonian, you gotta ask yourself, do I want Hotze calling the shots in my city? Because that’s what is at stake at the polls next week.

14 thoughts on “Pay No Attention to the Hatemonger Behind the Curtain

  1. LGBT people are normal human beings. They live their lives, contribute to society, and do all of the normal things that we all do.
    So WHY THE FEAR? Trying to get rid of all LGBT people out of Houston is the apex of ignorance and hate.
    LGBT people are normal? Yes, of course. They were born from straight parents and in the midst of gestation their BRAINS caused them to become a member of the LGBT community.
    I do not understand what people
    Those simple-minded people who point to their bibles for proof that homosexuality is an abomination. Forget that the meaning of words change ESPECIALLY when the original word is in Hebrew and it was translated into English. Jesus never said one word about homosexuality. Paul had some nasty things to say about some people. In fact, he HATED EVERYTHING ABOUT SEX. He told people not to marry if they could be celibate.
    The hypocrisy in all of that is that they delight in eating shell fish and fish that are not fit to be eaten–fish without scales and fins. They scarf down pork without a second thought although THEY TOO ARE AN ABOMINATION.
    But that word does NOT mean what people think it does. It means, literally, “this is what we do not do.” The residents of Egypt and Canaan did the things that were not for the nascent people of Israel.
    God said not to do some things–these we do not do–but Christians say that those restrictions were done away with by MEN. Since when can a mere man change what God has said?
    LGBT people have been with us since the beginning of human beings. That means that it is something NATURAL for them.
    When did YOU decide to be straight? Bigots think that LGBT people CHOSE to be who and what they are and that is nothing but deliberate ignorance by people like Hotze.

  2. I think he has interesting cranial structure. If Ales Hrdlicka were still alive, I think he would stare at it and marvel. Hrdlicka was famous for dumbfounding colleagues and friends when sitting in auditoriums, movie theaters, etc. He would sit there and carefully study the skulls beneath the hair and skin of the people sitting in the row right in front of him.

  3. God did not make homosexuals; He made man and gave him free will to follow one of two paths–the life of health and ultimate satisfaction or the life of sickness and suicide. Homosexuals, like porn, drug and alcohol addicts, kleptomaniacs and others with mental disorders, may or may not be “cured”, but they can be treated and helped.
    It is a FACT that homosexuals have more health problems, suicides and shorter life span than heterosexuals.
    It is a FACT that their higher rate of suicide is not due to prejudice or discrimination. It is higher even in places like the Netherlands where they are more accepted.
    It is a FACT that homosexuals have a higher rate of alcoholism and drug addiction than the general population.
    It is a FACT that Big Brothers, Boy Scouts, churches and other nonprofits have had to pay billions of dollars in lawsuits in recent years involving pedophilia and ephebophilia.
    If you have a friend or relative who is homosexual, you are not helping him by protecting and encouraging him in his deviant lifestyle, you are hurting him as well as the rest of society. Dr. Hotze is not the hatemonger; you are!!
    I admire Dr. Hotze and his tenacity in opposing HERO. Maybe he will bring out a new and better “Straight Slate”, hopefully more successful than 30 years ago.
    “THE ONLY THING NECESSARY FOR THE TRIUMPH OF EVIL IS FOR GOOD MEN TO DO NOTHING.” — Edmund Burke

    1. Fortunately, Jim, hateful people like you are fading away with the years. I considered whether all the nonsense in your post justified deleting it, but I’d rather folks see the viciousness for themselves. Every one of your “facts” is simply another unsubstantiated talking point promoted by hate groups for decades. Rather than waste time going through a point-by-point rebuttal (which would be lost on you anyway), I’ll simply point to the Southern Poverty Law Center’s excellent debunking: https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/intelligence-report/2015/10-anti-gay-myths-debunked. Since you like quotes, I’ll end with one you should be familiar with: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” No doubt, you’ll claim to follow that commandment. But your own words often betray you.

      1. You criticize Dr. Steve Hotze as a hatemonger, yet you quote the Southern Poverty Law Center which is recognized as one of the largest and wealthiest hate groups in America. The FBI lists them as one of the lowest rated in credibility. If you “love” your neighbor, you do whatever is helpful to him, not hurtful!! If your neighbor is an alcoholic, do you buy him a bottle of Jack Daniels for Christmas? If your neighbor is a drug addict, do drive him around the community helping him to find the most convenient drug dealer? If your neighbor is a porn addict, do you give him a subscription to a nude magazine? If your neighbor is a kleptomaniac, do you give him a key to your jewelry store? Encouraging, protecting and promoting homosexuality is not “loving” them, you are hurting them and the rest of society.

        1. The SPLC is one of the most respected civil rights and legal advocacy organizations in the country. And comparing being gay to being an alcoholic, drug addict, porn addict or kleptomaniac exposes your own prejudice more than anything else.

    2. I would like to know where you’re getting your FACTS from because without a reliable source their meaningless. Personally I don’t think you can back up your claim cause it’s ridiculous. Isn’t there enough hate in the world without jumping on someone for who they date/marry.

      1. You are correct in asking for reliable sources. They are necessary in order to maintain credibility. Here is a portion of them. After you have read all of these, please let me know and I will send you another portion. “Defining Orientation” by Eric Metaxas, “Sexuality and Homosexuality” by Karlen, “Back to the Basics” by Pines, “Society and the Healthy Homosexual” by Weinberg, “The Longevity of Homosexuals” by Cameron, “Does Homosexuality Shorten Life?” by Cameron, “AIDS Prognosis” by Haseltine, “The Gay Report” by Jay and Young, “Sexual Orientation and Sexuallly Transmitted Disease” by Cameron, “Effect of Homosexuality Upon Public Health and Social Order” by Cameron, “The Polymicrobial Origin of Intestinal Infection in Homosexual Men” by Quinn, “Risk of Kaposi’s Sarcoma and Sexual Practices Associated with Faecal Contact in Homosexual and Bisexual Men with AIDS” by Beral, “Sexual Transmission of Hepatitis A in Homosexual Men”.

        1. Reliable sources? What a joke. Just take Paul Cameron, for example. His hateful propaganda has been rejected by long list of responsible critics, including the American Psychological Association and the American Sociological Association, as junk science (at best). That you choose to list him as a “reliable” source speaks volumes. Other work, such as “The Gay Report,” is based on informal surveys that aren’t remotely scientific (and are decades old in any case). (Even the authors acknowledged that the survey samples weren’t scientifically valid.) Moreover, it’s doubtful that you’ve even read (much less understand) many (or any) of the other examples you list. Did you know, for example, that Weinberg has actually been an influential proponent of gay rights and argues that people who hold prejudice against gay people likely suffer from a psychological problem? In fact, I bet you didn’t know that. More likely, you simply got all this stuff from a list of “sources” provided by whatever anti-gay hate group you rely on for propaganda. You’ll have to try harder than that, Jim.

    3. Actually Jim Kennedy. I would phrase the statement by Burke a little differently:

      “THE ONLY THING NECESSARY FOR CHRISTIAN FUNDAMENTALIST AND CONSERVATIVE EVANGELICAL NUTJOBS TO TRIUMPH IS FOR GOOD CHRISTIANS TO SEE FUNDIE EVIL AND DO NOTHING ABOUT IT.”

      Come over and visit me at my blog:

      https://faith17983.wordpress.com/

      1. Was Jesus a Christian Fundamentalist and Conservative Evangelical Nut Job? No wonder the Jews and Romans conspired to have him and his disciples executed!! No wonder Muslims don’t want Christians to triumph in the Middle East!!! They should have shut their mouths and learned to go with you and rest of flow!!

        1. Jim,
          You ask: “Was Jesus a Christian Fundamentalist and Conservative Evangelical Nut Job?” No, he wasn’t — which is why he would be appalled to hear so much of the nonsense that you say in his name.