The television show “The Book of Daniel” was cancelled, some say it got poor ratings, but the show’s creator has another story. I’ve never seen the show, and rarely watch network television, but have been reminded of how scary the American religious Right’s censorship has become. As usual, the right-wingers are more on top of “gay friendly” television than most queer folk are. According to the show’s creator Jack Kenny, NBC backed the show when there were protests about the inclusion of gays and open marriages in the show’s content. Unfortunately, advertisers went running with the pressure of a fundamentalist group called the AFA (American Family Association) that most Americans don’t know much about.

The AFA hadn’t seen an episode of the show before they began rigorous protests. If you care to check out their homophobic website riddled with allusions to “Jesus and the Scriptures" you’ll find, under “Issues” one page titled “Homosexual Agenda.” A tile ad flashes the words, “Question Homosexuality. Change is possible,” promoting “Exodus International,” a group of ministries devoted to making gay people straight. Another page asking people to volunteer to pray “for the needs and concerns of American Family Association,” may seem funny, but it’s not if you consider how incredibly adept this group is at organizing and assembling activists. They’ve coined the term “pro-family,” a meaningless moniker aimed to make anything they don’t support automatically anti-family. These are the people who through relentless fundraising and protests are deciding what’s worthy of being on television.

“The Book of Daniel” is only the beginning. They’ve since sunk an episode of Will & Grace for supposedly mocking the crucifixion when guest star Britney Spears was going to do a cooking show called cruci-fixins. With the support of countless evangelical groups like “Focus on Family,” “Citizens for Community Values,” and “Mayday for Marriage” the AFA has a network of organizations willing to help fund and generate protests. From banning Ford for advertising in gay media to forcing the FCC to fine networks for “indecent” shows, the AFA’s is no longer the old pastor hitting us on the wrist with a ruler, it’s a frightening reassertion of the national divide.