I’m going to say this plain: libertarian gay marriage is about equal rights and equal rules. That’s why I support gay marriage under civil law, even when my personal beliefs don’t line up with every choice people make.

I don’t run on hate. Hate is lazy, it’s corrosive, and it makes people easy to control. I’ve watched families split and friendships die over politics, religion, and sex. That’s not “principle.” That’s wasted life.

I’ve got gay family members. I’ve got transgender kids. I’ve also got strong opinions about how I want to live in my own home. Those things can all be true at the same time.

My thoughts from 2016

Quick takeaways before we get into it

• Libertarian gay marriage means the state treats consenting adults the same, even when I disagree with their choices.

• Government shouldn’t be the marriage police, but as long as it is, equal protection has to mean something.

• I don’t support “special victim” laws. I support one standard: assault is assault, fraud is fraud, theft is theft.

• Health realities are real. Talking about HIV risk is not hate, it’s reality and prevention.

[Internal link: insert relevant Disruptarian post about personal liberty and voluntary association]

1) Gay people are not my enemy, and neither are you

I’m using blunt language because life is blunt. But hear me clearly: gay people are not my enemy. My enemy is anybody who wants to use the state as a weapon, whether they’re waving a rainbow flag, a Bible, or a party banner.

The whole point of libertarian gay marriage is that I don’t get to run your life, and you don’t get to run mine.

That means you can build your home the way you want, and I can build mine the way I want. It also means we don’t smear each other as monsters just because we disagree.

Disagreement is normal. Hate is optional.

2) Liberty first, always, even when it’s uncomfortable

I’ve been speaking my mind on hard topics for over two decades. And I’ve learned something the hard way: if your “principles” only apply to people you like, you don’t have principles. You have a club.

So yes, I defend rights for people I disagree with. That is the backbone of libertarian gay marriage. Rights aren’t a reward for ideological obedience. Rights are boundaries around state power.

If the government can deny marriage to one group today, it can deny it to another group tomorrow. It can deny it to you. It can deny it to your kids.

That’s why I’m allergic to moral crusades that use laws as a blunt object.

3) Prop 8 was government overreach, and I said so in 2008

Back in 2008, California’s Proposition 8 lit up the country. People acted like the government was going to “save” marriage by writing one more line into the constitution.

That’s not saving anything. That’s politicians playing house with your life.

Prop 8 was an overreach because it used state power to block consenting adults from a civil contract, and to roll back gay marriage in California.

For the record, here’s the official title and summary from California’s archived voter guide, not some meme screenshot: https://vigarchive.sos.ca.gov/2008/general/title-sum/prop8-title-sum.htm Voter Information Guide

My words from 2008 on the topic of gay rights, long before gay marriage was even legal

https://www.youtube.com/@xcannabiscom/search?query=gay%20marriage

4) The 14th Amendment matters, because equal protection is the whole ball game

The 14th Amendment isn’t a magic spell that solves every argument, but it does set a floor: the government can’t give one set of citizens “full rights” and hand another set “watered down rights” with a grin.

You can read the text at the National Archives: https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/14th-amendment

That’s why I keep coming back to the same sentence: a right is a right. Not a favor. Not a privilege. Not a permission slip.

And yes, courts have applied that logic to marriage.

5) Obergefell is the law of the land, and pretending otherwise is a trap

In 2015, the Supreme Court held that states must license and recognize same-sex marriages under the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses. That decision is Obergefell v. Hodges: https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/crt/legacy/2015/06/26/obergefellhodgesopinion.pdf Department of Justice

You can argue about the reasoning. You can argue about the history. That’s America.

But here’s the practical reality: same-sex marriage is a settled civil institution for millions of people. When politicians play games with that, they aren’t “defending tradition.” They are lighting other people’s lives on fire for applause.

And if you’re the kind of official who wants to deny services because you “disagree,” then you’re telling the world you don’t believe in equal treatment. You believe in power.

6) Even in 2025, people keep trying to relitigate it, and the Court said “no”

If you want a quick update since the older debates, here’s one that matters.

On November 10, 2025, the Supreme Court declined to take a case tied to Kim Davis, the former Kentucky clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses after Obergefell. The court didn’t use it as a vehicle to revisit same-sex marriage. They turned it away: https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-same-sex-marriage-50eb4ad421911696e742d8c4fb4962fd AP News

That doesn’t mean the political pressure disappears. It means the “overturn it tomorrow” crowd keeps running into the wall of legal reality.

7) My line in the sand: equal rights, not special privileges

Now we get to the part where everybody starts yelling.

I support equal treatment. I do not support special legal status. I don’t want one rulebook for gays, one rulebook for straights, one rulebook for anybody.

That’s where hate crime laws come in.

If you punch somebody, you punched somebody. If you rob somebody, you robbed somebody. The act is the crime.

When you add sentence enhancements based on identity categories, you’re not just punishing violence. You’re punishing thoughts and motives. And that’s where governments get addicted, because it gives prosecutors a new political lever.

Plenty of people disagree with me on this, and I get why. Some argue hate crime enhancements reflect broader social harm or intimidation of a whole group.

I’m still not sold.

I want the same standard for everyone. That’s the cleanest version of equality I know.

8) “I don’t approve” isn’t the same thing as hate

I’m an ordained minister. That means I take vows seriously. It also means I’m not going to pretend my beliefs evaporate because someone on the internet demands it.

Here’s the distinction that gets people twisted: I can disagree with choices and still defend rights. That’s the point of libertarian gay marriage.

I don’t have to approve of every bedroom decision in America to say the government should not criminalize consensual adults, deny them contracts, or treat them like second-class citizens.

Hate is wishing harm.

Disagreement is just disagreement.

And if we can’t tell the difference anymore, that’s a bigger cultural problem than who’s kissing who.

[Video: Disruptarian Radio clip discussing “Hate Is Unproductive” | Note: Adds voice and context, and keeps readers on the page longer]

Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkVeFOgmni8

9) My personal history shaped my views, but it didn’t make me a hater

When I was young, I saw some dark stuff. Abuse. Manipulation. Predatory behavior. It happens in every community, and it wrecks people.

Some of what I saw involved people who were LGBTQ. That fact influenced my instinctive caution. I won’t lie about that.

But I also refuse to paint a whole category of human beings with one brush. That’s not justice. That’s laziness.

Even when I was homeless in Seattle, I lived with gay and bisexual friends. We watched each other’s backs. We shared food. We shared couches. We shared the kind of rough honesty you only learn when life strips you down to the studs.

Those men and women were not caricatures. They were people.

That’s why, when I talk about libertarian gay marriage, I’m not talking about slogans. I’m talking about real humans trying to build stability.

10) The CDC data is real: talk about risk without turning it into hate

Let’s talk about the health side without losing our minds.

The CDC has been clear for years that gay and bisexual men, and other men who report male-to-male sexual contact, are disproportionately affected by HIV in the United States. That’s not an insult. That’s public health reality: https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/data-research/facts-stats/gay-bisexual-men.html CDC

And in CDC’s 2025 update on diagnoses, the agency reports that a large share of diagnoses among men are attributed to male-to-male sexual contact: https://www.cdc.gov/hiv-data/nhss/hiv-diagnoses-deaths-and-prevalence-2025.html CDC

So what do I do with that information?

I don’t use it to shame people. I use it to push stability.

If two adults love each other and want to build a life, I’m going to encourage commitment, monogamy if that’s their thing, routine testing, and getting educated about prevention. I’m not your doctor. I’m just not interested in pretending risk doesn’t exist.

Talking about risk is not hate. It’s honesty.

11) Marriage is a stabilizer, and stability is underrated

This is where my “don’t live like I do” crowd gets surprised. I’m still saying gay marriage should be legal.

I’m pro marriage. Not because I worship the state’s paperwork, but because stable commitments make people less desperate and more grounded.

That’s true for straight couples.

That’s true for gay couples. Gay marriage can be a stabilizer too.

And yes, it’s true even when I disagree with some choices that surround modern sexuality.

Libertarian gay marriage isn’t me “endorsing a lifestyle.” It’s me saying: if you’re going to build a household, build it strong. Stop living like everything is temporary. Temporary people get temporary outcomes.

What I’d change if the state got out of marriage entirely

If you want the pure libertarian version, here it is: the state shouldn’t be in marriage at all. It should recognize contracts and child custody obligations, and then stay out of the ceremony.

Let churches, synagogues, mosques, private clubs, and families do their thing. Let people choose their communities.

If the state is going to issue licenses and attach benefits, then equal access is the only non-corrupt option. That’s libertarian gay marriage in the real world.

[Internal link: insert relevant Disruptarian post about limiting government power and civil liberties]

“Victim culture” is what actually burns me

What really burns me isn’t sexual orientation. It’s the victim mindset that’s become a currency.

I’ve had people lie about me, slander me, and try to ruin my reputation because I wouldn’t recite their script. They write themselves as the hero in an oppression fantasy and cast anyone who disagrees as the villain.

Meanwhile, I’ve never assaulted anyone. I’ve never used my beliefs to deny someone a job, a place to live, or a chance at happiness.

I’m not trying to control you.

I’m trying to keep the state from controlling all of us.

That’s why I keep coming back to libertarian gay marriage: rights for people I disagree with is the price of my own freedom.

The Respect for Marriage Act is another backstop people should understand

A lot of folks missed this in the noise, but it matters.

In 2022, Congress passed the Respect for Marriage Act, which provides statutory recognition for marriages valid under state law and requires recognition of same-sex and interracial marriages across states. The official bill text and summary are on Congress.gov: https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/8404 Congress.gov

You can dislike Congress and still appreciate a backstop that makes it harder for politicians to yank the rug out overnight.

Where I draw the line on gay marriage debates: no compelled speech, no forced celebration

Here’s the deal. I can defend gay marriage as a civil right and still reject the idea that the government gets to force private citizens to mouth slogans they don’t believe.

Freedom of association matters. Freedom of speech matters. If you can’t say “no,” then your “yes” is meaningless.

So when the fight shifts from “Can two adults get married?” to “Will you be punished if you won’t celebrate it?” that’s where a lot of people lose their minds.

My view is consistent with the same logic behind gay marriage itself: the state should not be in the business of coercing conscience.

That means:

• Government clerks do their job, because the job belongs to the public.

• Churches decide their sacraments, because the church does not belong to the state.

• Private citizens can disagree, because disagreement is not violence.

If you want to persuade people that gay marriage is normal, you don’t do it with threats. You do it by being a decent neighbor.

That’s not weakness. That’s a smarter kind of strength.

[Image: A “Free Speech” sign held beside a marriage license, both slightly weathered | ALT: gay marriage rights and free speech can coexist]

How I talk about this with my own family

Because I’ve got people I love on different sides of this, I try to keep it simple.

I tell my kids: your body is yours, your life is yours, and your choices have consequences. Don’t demand applause. Don’t demand hate. Be honest.

I tell my gay relatives: I’m not your enemy. I won’t sabotage your rights. I’m not interested in humiliating you. I do expect the same respect back.

And I tell the activists, on any side: stop trying to conscript the government into your personal moral battles. That road ends with somebody else’s boot on your neck.

Practical boundaries that keep liberty alive

Here’s the middle ground that actually works in real life:

• Adults can marry who they want under civil law.

• Religious institutions can define religious marriage how they want.

• Private people can associate, or not associate, based on their values.

• Violence and harassment get punished, period.

• Nobody gets a special legal halo.

That’s my libertarian gay marriage framework in five lines.

[Image: Close-up of a marriage license on a worn wooden table beside a pocket Constitution | ALT: libertarian gay marriage is about equal protection under the law]

FAQ: libertarian gay marriage, hate crime laws, and equal protection

Do libertarians have to support gay marriage?

No one “has to” support anything. But if you believe in limited government and equal rights, libertarian gay marriage is the consistent position for civil law.

Isn’t supporting gay marriage the same as approving of it?

Not even close. Civil rights aren’t the same thing as moral approval. You can disagree and still defend equal treatment.

Are hate crime laws unconstitutional?

Courts have upheld various hate crime laws, so I’m not making a courtroom prediction. I’m making a liberty argument: punishing identical acts differently based on identity is a dangerous habit for the state.

Why mention HIV at all?

Because reality exists. The CDC’s own data shows disproportionate impact among gay and bisexual men, and prevention starts with honesty. CDC+1

Will you officiate a same-sex wedding?

Yes. If you want a civil ceremony, I’ll do it. No charge. I’ve offered that to people in my own family, and I’m not backing away from it.

[Image: Two sets of hands exchanging rings in a simple courthouse ceremony | ALT: libertarian gay marriage ceremony focused on commitment, not politics]

My closing thought, because I’m not here to babysit anybody’s feelings

Hate is poison. It destroys lives, families, and freedom.

But disagreement isn’t hate. Criticism isn’t violence. Saying “I don’t support your choices” doesn’t mean “I want to harm you.”

I believe in liberty. That means protecting the rights of people I don’t agree with. That means standing up for fairness even when it’s uncomfortable.

So if you’re gay, straight, bi, trans, or something else entirely, live your life. Just don’t lie about mine.

If you want to get married, hit me up. If it’s a gay marriage ceremony, I’ll still do your wedding. No charge.

Sources:

• [CDC HIV Surveillance Report, 2011 | https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/pdf/statistics_hiv_surveillance_report_vol_23.pdf]

• [Murdock v. Pennsylvania, 319 U.S. 105 (1943) | https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/319/105/]

• [Shuttlesworth v. Birmingham, 394 U.S. 147 (1969) | https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/394/147/]

• [14th Amendment, U.S. Constitution | https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/14th-amendment]

• [Video: Hate Is Unproductive | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkVeFOgmni8]

• My archive of my history on the topic (and other topics) can be found at the Internet Archive:  https://archive.org/details/@veracitylife
• I have a lot in common about this topic, with the group of people that is growing in the LGB community called “Normal Gays”, reference:
  https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Normal+gays

Spun Web Technology SMART SEO

I’m not writing this as an academic. I’m writing it as a guy who got tired of being told what to think, by people who were very sure they should be in charge.

The Ethiopian Bible hit me like that. Not because it’s “exotic,” and not because I’m chasing some mystical flex. It hit me because it exposes a simple fact most Western Christians were trained to ignore: the Bible you grew up calling “the Bible” is a historical product. It got shaped, trimmed, organized, and standardized. That process was not always evil, but it was always political.

Rastafari gave me language for the political side of religion. Ethiopia gave me receipts.

Table of Contents

• The Ethiopian Bible and the “closed box” lie

• Ethiopian Bible quick map: what the 81 books do to your worldview

• Canon is politics, and Babylon loves canon fights

• Ethiopia is ancient Christianity, not a side quest

• Geʽez manuscripts and the Garima Gospels

• The Book of Enoch, Jude, and a rebellious Ethiopian Bible

• A “cosmic Christ” that institutions can’t domesticate

• Rastafari livity and the refusal to outsource conscience

• Leaving Mormonism taught me to test priesthood claims

• The Lemba tribe, DNA, and what science can and can’t prove

• Tabot, Ark talk, and temple logic still alive

• Jamaica, Abuna Yesehaq, and the bridge between Ethiopia and Rasta

• How to read the Ethiopian Bible without turning it into cosplay

Geʽez manuscript on parchment

1) The Ethiopian Bible and the “closed box” lie

Most people I know were raised to treat scripture like a sealed container. Sixty six books, leather cover, ribbon marker, case closed. If you question the box, you’re “questioning God.”

Nah. You’re questioning a publishing tradition.

The Ethiopian Bible forces an honest question: when somebody says “the Bible,” which community’s Bible do they mean?

And that question matters, because power loves “closed boxes.” If the box is sealed, the gatekeepers get to stand in front of it and charge you admission.

2) Ethiopian Bible quick map: what the 81 books do to your worldview

People hear “81 books” and immediately ask, “So what, it’s just extra content?”

That question is the Western consumer brain talking. The Ethiopian Bible isn’t DLC. It’s inheritance.

A wider Ethiopian Bible canon gives you a different spiritual vocabulary. You see more apocalyptic critique. You get more “princes of power” language. You get more warnings about corrupt rulers and crooked priests. You get more cosmic imagination, which is exactly what Babylon tries to flatten into dull compliance.

It also changes how you read the New Testament. When the Ethiopian Bible keeps books like Enoch and Jubilees in the neighborhood, you start noticing how many New Testament ideas sound like they grew out of a bigger Second Temple world than your Sunday school ever admitted.

And yes, for the record: the Ethiopian Bible absolutely includes Jesus. The debate is not “Is Ethiopia Christian?” The debate is why so many Western folks act like Christianity needs a European passport to be considered real.

If you feel defensive reading that, I get it. I used to feel it too. Then I started asking myself who trained me to feel that way.

3) Canon is politics, and Babylon loves canon fights

I’m not here to start a holy war over who has the “real Bible.” I’m here to point out something simpler: canon decisions are always tied to authority.

If a centralized institution can define the library, it can define the boundaries of “acceptable” spirituality. That’s not automatically sinister, but it is a power move. And Babylon loves power moves.

Babylon, in Rasta language, is the whole system that trains you to obey first and think later. It’s the state, the corporate church, the credential cartel, the propaganda machine. It’s any structure that punishes conscience.

A bigger Ethiopian Bible does something dangerous in a Babylon world. It widens the conversation. It adds prophetic heat. It forces you to admit there were other streams of early Jewish and Christian thought that didn’t survive as the mainstream Western default.

Also, it humbles you. Because if God spoke to more than one tradition, then nobody gets to play landlord over the Spirit, not Rome, not Canterbury, not Salt Lake, not your favorite streaming preacher.

4) Ethiopia is ancient Christianity, not a side quest

People talk like Ethiopia “adopted” Christianity late, like it’s a branch office of Rome. That’s historically sloppy.

Ethiopia is ancient Christianity, with its own deep story, its own fasting discipline, its own liturgy, its own saints, and its own continuity. It didn’t need Western permission slips.

If you grew up in a modern megachurch, or in a tight controlled denomination, it can be hard to grasp this: the Christian world was never one centralized thing. It was a messy, spread out, multilingual movement. Ethiopia is not “extra,” it’s foundational.

And that’s part of why the Ethiopian Bible matters. The Ethiopian Bible is attached to a living church that carried texts, liturgy, and theological memory through centuries when other regions were busy fighting over who gets to be boss.

5) Geʽez manuscripts and the Garima Gospels

A lot of Western Christians think “ancient manuscripts” means Egypt, Greece, Rome. Ethiopia belongs in that sentence too.

Geʽez became Ethiopia’s classical liturgical language, and Ethiopia built a serious manuscript tradition around it. That matters, because manuscripts are receipts. They prove who was in the room early, who preserved what, and who didn’t.

One of the most famous examples is the Garima Gospels. The point isn’t “my manuscripts are older than yours.” The point is that Ethiopia was never a footnote.

So when somebody shrugs and says the Ethiopian Bible is “weird,” I hear the subtext: “If it didn’t come through Western channels, it doesn’t count.”

That’s Babylon talk. Hard pass.

6) The Book of Enoch, Jude, and a rebellious Ethiopian Bible

Now we get to the fun part.

The Ethiopian Bible preserves 1 Enoch in full. And even if you don’t treat it as canon, you should recognize its influence.

Jude uses language that lines up with Enoch in a way scholars have argued about for a long time. So this is not random fan fiction. This is part of the Second Temple Jewish world that early Christians swam in.

Enoch reads like moral protest. It confronts corrupt powers, cosmic rebellion, defilement of the earth, and the idea that God sees what the rulers hide. If you’ve ever looked around and thought, “The system is lying,” you will understand why Enoch lands hard.

And yes, it also explains why institutions get nervous around apocalyptic texts. They don’t want average people hearing “judgment against corrupt rulers” and then looking up from the pew like, “Wait, you mean them too?”

7) A “cosmic Christ” that institutions can’t domesticate

One of the biggest lies in Western religion is the soft domesticated Jesus. The safe one. The one who never flips tables. The one who never threatens an empire. The one who exists mostly to keep you polite.

The Ethiopian Bible tradition keeps a very different vibe alive: Christ as overwhelming. Radiant. Too big to be packaged.

Now, I’m careful here. Some modern narrations get dramatic and slide into claims that go beyond what we can verify. I’m not doing that. I’m talking about the overall spiritual posture: majesty, holy fear, transformation, and union with God instead of a cheap “say the words, join the club” transaction.

A Christ who is only “nice” is easy for Babylon to sponsor.

A Christ who is sovereign and judging is hard to weaponize for empire. Harder to turn into a mascot for tax collectors and censors.

This is where the Ethiopian Bible shakes people. The Ethiopian Bible reminds you that the gospel is not a therapy brand. It’s a claim about reality and authority.

8) Rastafari livity and the refusal to outsource conscience

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Rastafari is not “weed and reggae.” It’s livity. It’s discipline. It’s an anti-Babylon stance lived out in daily choices.

Rasta is also decentralized. No pope. No single council. That makes some people nervous. It makes me breathe easier.

Because I’ve watched what centralized religious power does. It starts by telling you what to believe, and ends by telling you what you’re allowed to say. It’s the same control impulse in church clothes.

Rasta forces reasoning. You have to test spirits. You have to live what you say. You can’t hide behind “my pastor said” when your life is a mess.

If you want my personal story version, that old “What Rasta Means to Me” video is still up. I was rougher around the edges then, but the core is the same.

9) Leaving Mormonism taught me to test priesthood claims

I was raised Mormon. Utah culture. The whole thing. I also know what it’s like to invest your whole identity in a story, then realize parts of that story don’t survive contact with evidence.

That experience trained me to do something most institutions hate: ask for receipts.

I’m not here to dunk on individuals. I’ve got friends and family in that world. But institutions that demand loyalty while discouraging investigation are a problem. Always.

And this is where the Ethiopian Bible theme matters again. Once you see that the Ethiopian Bible story is bigger than one American restoration narrative, you stop letting gatekeepers threaten you with shame.

You start reading wider, listening wider, and refusing to call comfort “truth.”

10) The Lemba tribe, DNA, and what science can and can’t prove

The Lemba story grabbed me because it sits at the intersection of oral tradition, migration, identity, and modern genetics.

The basics: the Lemba are a southern African group with long held traditions of Middle Eastern or Jewish ancestry. Researchers tested those traditions using Y chromosome markers.

Here’s my libertarian takeaway: DNA is a tool, not a priest. It can suggest population history. It cannot deliver a divine stamp of identity.

Still, the Lemba tradition matters because it refuses the colonial script that says Africa is always a late arrival to sacred history, including the sacred history behind the Ethiopian Bible world.

Also, it’s a warning against fake certainty. The Mormon world taught me that “certainty” can be manufactured. Science taught me that humility is part of truth.

If you want more of my newer writing on priesthood, land, lineage, and the DNA debate, I’ve got a piece on Disruptarian that digs into those tensions:
/blog/israel-place-people-priesthood-and-the-dna-debate-nobody-wants-to-finish/

Lemba map Southern Africa

11) Tabot, Ark talk, and temple logic still alive

Western Christianity often treats the Old Testament like an opening act. Read it, quote it, then move on to “real” religion.

Ethiopian Orthodoxy never fully did that.

The tabot tradition keeps temple logic alive: sacred space, embodied worship, procession as theology, not performance. Whether you agree with every detail or not, you can still recognize what it preserves.

And there’s a modern political edge here too. Colonial extraction didn’t only steal gold and land. It stole sacred objects, then pretended that was “education.”

That’s Babylon. Every time.

12) Jamaica, Abuna Yesehaq, and the bridge between Ethiopia and Rasta

A lot of people assume Rastafari is anti-Christian by default. It’s more accurate to say it’s anti-colonial Christianity.

There is a real historical bridge between Rasta communities and the Ethiopian Orthodox Church in Jamaica, and that matters because it shows Rasta people weren’t rejecting Christ. They were rejecting Babylon’s version of Christ.

And yes, I know: there are multiple “mansions” in Rasta, and not everybody agrees on Haile Selassie’s divinity. That diversity is real. But the shared refusal is also real: we’re not handing our conscience to empire.

If you want more of the cultural context, I also wrote about reggae as spiritual struggle and resistance:
/blog/reggae-is-the-music-of-spiritual-struggle-la-croix-international/

Video: Revealing the mysteries of a Lost Tribe, the Lemba and Rastafari | Note: This video connects the Lemba story to priesthood questions and Rasta identity.

13) How to read the Ethiopian Bible without turning it into cosplay

This section is for my people who get excited, then get weird.

The Ethiopian Bible is not a costume. It’s not a vibe. It’s not a reason to play pretend priest on the internet. It’s a living canon in a living church.

So here’s my simple rule set for approaching the Ethiopian Bible like an adult:

1. Start with humility. You are a guest in somebody else’s house. Don’t act entitled.

2. Separate “canon facts” from “internet myths.” Use the church’s canon list as your baseline, not TikTok lore.

3. Read in layers. The Ethiopian Bible doesn’t replace the New Testament, it frames it in a wider library.

4. Don’t confuse symbols with lab proof. The Lemba story is meaningful, but DNA does not certify holiness.

5. Keep your anti-Babylon filter on. If somebody is selling you “secret knowledge” for clicks, that’s Babylon too.

If you want a practical starting point, do this: read the Gospels, then read Jude, then read 1 Enoch, and pay attention to the moral target. Who is being judged? What kind of power gets condemned? What kind of holiness is demanded?

That’s when the Ethiopian Bible starts making sense. The Ethiopian Bible is not asking you to win arguments. The Ethiopian Bible is asking you to stop serving corrupt systems with your silence.

Where I land, still

I’m not asking you to join a church. I’m not selling a label. I’m telling you what I had to learn the hard way.

The Ethiopian Bible reminds me that scripture and tradition were never owned by the West.
Rastafari reminds me that faith without liberation is usually somebody else’s religion.
The Lemba story reminds me that identity is bigger than the categories colonial history tried to impose.

And Babylon, whether it wears a government badge or a church collar, still hates the same thing: free minds.

So if you read this and feel that itch, that holy discomfort, good. That’s your conscience waking up.

Seek the Most High. Read wider. Test the spirits. Treat institutions like what they are: human tools that can help, but also can rot.

Choose Zion over Babylon. Even when it costs you something.

Sources

• Reverend Ryan – What Rasta Means to Me (YouTube)  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E04JxgW8jOI

• Revealing the mysteries of a Lost Tribe, the Lemba and Rastafari (YouTube)  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZXiJfmjIPc

• The canon of the Ethiopic Bible (Ethiopian Orthodox Church)  https://www.ethiopianorthodox.org/english/canonical/books.html

• Rastafari | History, Beliefs, & Facts (Britannica)  https://www.britannica.com/topic/Rastafari

• Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church | History, Beliefs & Facts (Britannica)  https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ethiopian-Orthodox-Tewahedo-Church

• Revised dating places Garima Gospels before 650 (Kenyon College, PERE Journal PDF)  https://digital.kenyon.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1209&context=perejournal

• The Cohen Modal Haplotype and the Origins of the Lemba (PMC)  https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1288118/

• NOVA Online | Lost Tribes of Israel | The Lemba (PBS  |https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/israel/familylemba.html

• About (Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church in Jamaica)  https://www.eotcja.org/about

• Liturgical Worship: Unique Features of Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (Tabot)  https://eotcmk.org/e/unique-features-of-ethiopian-orthodox-tewahedo-church/

• The Christological Use of I Enoch i.9 in Jude 14, 15 (Cambridge)  https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/new-testament-studies/article/christological-use-of-i-enoch-i9-in-jude-14-15/8DCDFDEC8A0991A3A6914DB795924104

• Westminster Abbey agrees ‘in principle’ to return sacred tablet to Ethiopia (The Guardian)  https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/19/westminster-abbey-agrees-in-principle-to-return-sacred-tablet-to-ethiopia

• Westminster Abbey decides ‘in principle’ to return Ethiopian tabot (The Art Newspaper)  https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2024/02/13/westminster-abbey-decides-in-principle-to-return-ethiopian-tabot

• Israel: Place, People, Priesthood, and the DNA Debate Nobody Wants to Finish (Disruptarian)  /blog/israel-place-people-priesthood-and-the-dna-debate-nobody-wants-to-finish/

• Reggae: The Soundtrack of Spiritual Struggle and Resistance (Disruptarian)  /blog/reggae-is-the-music-of-spiritual-struggle-la-croix-international/

  • Ethiopic canon list Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church

  • Rastafari overview Encyclopedia Britannica

  • Lemba genetics summary PBS

  • Lemba genetics paper PMC+1

  • EOTC Jamaica founding date Ethiopian Orthodox Church Jamaica

  • Garima Gospels dating Digital Kenyon

  • Tabot explanation EOTCMK

  • Tabot return reporting The Guardian+1

  • Jude and Enoch scholarship Cambridge University Press & Assessment

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The “Gag Order” After Charlie Kirk’s Assassination: Why Silence the Crowd?

Let’s get one thing straight: asking questions is not a crime.

Watch this podcast at Rumble

Charlie Kirk was shot and killed on September 10, 2025, during an event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. Authorities and major outlets described it as a rooftop shooting, and the FBI later released details about a subject climbing onto a rooftop, then fleeing after the shot. AP News+1

That’s the headline.

But the real story is always what happens next. The scramble. The narrative lockdown. The subtle shift from “we’re investigating” to “how dare you notice anything.”

And now we’ve got a new accelerant dumped on the fire: a judge entered a pretrial “publicity order” that local reporting flat out called a gag order. FOX 13 News Utah (KSTU)+1

So yeah, I’m going to ask the obvious question:

Why the gag order?

Not as a gotcha. As a citizen.

What the court filing says happened

If you want to avoid the internet fog machine, start with the primary document.

Utah County’s charging “Information” says Tyler James Robinson is charged with aggravated murder and other counts, and it includes a probable cause statement. It places the shooting at about 12:23 p.m. on September 10, 2025, and says police later found a bolt-action .30-06 rifle nearby. It also describes the manhunt and Robinson’s surrender the next evening. Utah County Attorney’s Office

And here’s a detail most people miss: the document includes alleged witness tampering. According to the filing, Robinson texted his roommate telling him to delete an exchange, and also: “don’t talk to the media” and “if any police ask you questions ask for a lawyer and stay silent.” Utah County Attorney’s Office

File that away.

Because when a case already contains alleged “stay silent” messaging, and then the court imposes a broad speech restriction over “witnesses,” you can see why normal people start squinting.

The gag order, what it is, and what it’s doing

Fox 13 reported prosecutors discussed a gag order entered by 4th District Court Judge Tony Graf that forbids anyone associated with the case from speaking to news media, and prosecutors warned the shooting happened in front of “two or three thousand” students, meaning witnesses may be unknown and numerous. Judge Graf said the order was designed to prevent problems tied to pretrial publicity. FOX 13 News Utah (KSTU)

CBS News described the order’s mechanics more clearly. It says the prior order prohibited witnesses from making “extrajudicial statements,” required attorneys to inform witnesses about the order, and that the state argued “witness” was too vague given thousands of potential lay witnesses. CBS reports Graf clarified it covers witnesses that the prosecution or defense has a good faith belief will be called to testify. CBS News

So let’s translate that into English:

• A massive public event.

• A massive pool of potential witnesses.

• A court order telling “witnesses” to keep quiet publicly.

And then everyone acts confused when the public distrust spikes.

Silence doesn’t calm people down. Silence tells people you’re hiding something.

Why a gag order might be “normal,” and why it still stinks

I’m not pretending courts never do this. High-profile cases bring media swarms. Courts worry about jury pools. Defense attorneys worry about prejudicial coverage. I get it.

But “I get it” is not “I like it.”

America has other tools:

• Change venue if needed.

• Screen jurors hard.

• Give tight jury instructions.

• Restrict what attorneys say publicly.

What hits different is the vibe of a broad muzzle on witnesses, especially when the public is trying to understand basic facts about security failures and timeline decisions.

And the uglier truth is this: gag orders can also function as a pressure-release valve for institutions. It buys time. It cools anger. It delays scrutiny until the moment has passed.

That’s not a conspiracy theory. That’s how bureaucracy survives. Delay, redact, declare victory.

“If the story is clean, transparency helps.”

The FBI’s own update says the subject climbed onto a rooftop around noon, shot Kirk, then jumped off and ran. The FBI also describes trace evidence collected from the rooftop, including impressions and prints. Federal Bureau of Investigation

That’s useful. That’s real information.

AP’s initial reporting also described a rooftop shooting and quoted Utah’s governor calling it a political assassination. AP News

So here’s what I want to see next, and what you should demand too:

1. A public timeline with timestamps (what’s already uncontested).

2. The security plan structure (who owned rooftops, who owned perimeter, who monitored cameras).

3. After-action review when complete (what failed, what changes were made).

4. Clear boundaries on the “publicity order” so the public can understand what is restricted and why.

Because if you leave everything blurry, the internet fills in the blanks. Not always fairly.

JFK irony, and why people keep making the comparison

There’s a reason people keep bringing up JFK.

When the official story feels too tidy, people start counting the “inexcusable” things. Security gaps. Route changes. Convenient timing. Missing accountability. Then they hear, “Stop asking questions,” and they feel the trap closing.

Charlie Kirk, in his own commentary about JFK, argued that the important part is whether the government lied and whether the official narrative deserves trust. That’s the muscle memory people are using now.

And now we’re watching the modern version: a public political killing, an avalanche of media, and a courtroom trying to restrict what the surrounding humans are allowed to say out loud.

So again: why the gag order?

The Israel question: yes, you can ask. No, you don’t get to smear.

Some people are asking, “Is there a link to Israel?”

Here’s my rule: Ask anything you want. Demand evidence.

Just asking questions is not a crime.

But don’t do the lazy thing where you skip evidence and jump straight to scapegoating.

Reuters documented how fast rumors and outright fake claims spread after Kirk’s death, including misidentifications and fabricated headlines. Reuters

That’s the danger zone. When the air is full of misinformation, the worst move is to pick a target based on vibes.

So if someone wants to make an Israel argument, fine. Do it like an adult:

• Show documents.

• Show communications.

• Show money flows.

• Show credible witness testimony.

If you don’t have that, then you don’t have a case. You have a suspicion. And suspicions are not proof.

The principle is simple: speech stays free, standards stay high.

What you can do without becoming part of the problem

If you actually care about truth, do this:

• Don’t harass random people.

• Don’t doxx witnesses.

• Don’t chase “sources” who can’t show receipts.

• Do request public records where appropriate.

• Do pressure institutions to publish timelines and policies.

• Do keep asking, especially when they tell you not to.

Because that’s the game. They want you tired. They want you distracted. They want you ashamed of curiosity.

No.

If the state wants trust after a political assassination, it can earn it the only way it ever has: transparency and accountability.

And if it can’t do that, then it doesn’t deserve the benefit of your doubt.

Sources

• Utah County Attorney’s Office: Information, State v. Tyler James Robinson (PDF)|https://atty.utahcounty.gov/cms/uploads/TJR_Information_49872215e3.pdf

• FBI: Utah Valley Shooting Updates|https://www.fbi.gov/news/press-releases/utah-valley-shooting-updates

• Associated Press: Conservative activist Charlie Kirk dead after being shot at Utah university event|https://apnews.com/article/charlie-kirk-conservative-activist-shot-546165a8151104e0938a5e085be1e8bd

• FOX 13 Now: “Voluminous” evidence and gag order that could impact thousands in Robinson case|https://www.fox13now.com/news/shooting-of-charlie-kirk/tyler-robinson-makes-second-court-appearance-in-utah-county

• CBS News: Judge weighs media access, clarifies “witness” language in prior publicity order|https://www.cbsnews.com/news/charlie-kirk-murder-suspect-court-tyler-robinson-judge-weighs-media-access/

• Utah County Attorney Media Update: Dec. 11 hearing and motion to clarify publicity order|https://atty.utahcounty.gov/media/ckpr/119

• Reuters: Rumors, misinformation rampant on social media after Kirk killing|https://www.reuters.com/world/us/rumors-misinformation-about-charlie-kirk-killing-rampant-social-media-2025-09-11/

• Times of India: Owens shares screenshots she says are from April 6, 2018|https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/did-charlie-kirk-predict-his-own-murder-candace-owens-reveals-eerie-prophecy-text-messages-from-years-before-his-death/articleshow/125024848.cms

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Barry Cooper posted this line the other day:

“It’s interesting, the left wing trolls have been very quiet the last two weeks. The three weeks prior I was inundated with vile insults and name calling almost by the minute. I’m talking about hundreds of attacks daily. Mostly they were paid operatives having no knowledge and very little intelligence to argue about anything. Now they are silent. Obviously the money for the year ran out. I suspect they will return after the first.” Facebook

And yeah, I saw it. I also laughed, because it’s the oldest move in the internet playbook: when the heat shows up, pretend it’s not real people. It’s “paid operatives.” It’s “bots.” It’s “the deep state.” It’s always somebody else.

But here’s the thing. Sometimes the simplest answer is the right one.

If the comments went quiet because you hit “block,” then no, Barry, the money didn’t run out. Your tolerance did.

Quick context for anyone new here

Barry Cooper is a former Texas narcotics officer turned drug war critic and media figure. A lot of people first knew him from KopBusters and later from the “Never Get Busted” brand, where he teaches people how police actually operate in drug cases. Wikipedia

Whatever you think of him today, there’s no denying his story has been a thing for a long time. It’s even been packaged into a documentary project that made the Sundance orbit. Screen Australia

So when somebody like that starts whining about “left wing trolls” going quiet, while longtime supporters are getting blocked, I’m going to call it what it looks like: narrative control.

What I said back, and what I’m not going to pretend anymore

I replied on his page. And like most replies that don’t kiss the ring, it’ll probably get deleted.

My point was simple:

• You censored comments.

• You blocked people, including supporters.

• You tried to reframe the backlash as a “paid troll” op.

• You drew a loyalty line in the sand: pick you, or pick Candace Owens.

And I picked Candace.

Not because Candace is perfect. She’s not. She’s controversial, she’s loud, and she’s currently at the center of a bunch of infighting on the right. The Washington Post

But you know what? None of that matters as much as the principle.

I’m not joining anybody’s little online church where disagreement gets you excommunicated.

The “paid operatives” excuse is a way to avoid looking in the mirror

Let’s be real.

Yes, paid trolling exists. So do bot networks. So do coordinated attacks. Politics and online media are full of that junk. Everybody with a following deals with it.

But when you blame everything on “paid operatives,” you get to avoid the uncomfortable possibility that real humans are mad at you for real reasons.

It’s like when the state destroys the currency and then tells you inflation is caused by “greedy businesses.” Inflation is the printer. Always has been. Same glass, less kick.

In this case, the printer is censorship.

If your comment section looks calmer after you block a bunch of critics, that’s not “the trolls went away.” That’s you turning the lights off and declaring the roaches disappeared.

Censorship is still censorship, even when your side does it

Liberty people used to understand something basic:

Free speech isn’t a vibe. It’s a rule.

When you build your brand on resisting abusive authority, then turn around and start running your own little speech police operation, you don’t get to act shocked when people notice.

Silencing speech is like putting duct tape over a smoke alarm. The fire still burns, you just can’t hear the warning.

And the warning here is obvious: your audience is not “left wing trolls.” It’s your own base saying, “what happened to you?”

The loyalty test is the real tell

Here’s where the whole thing gets disgusting.

The moment you tell your audience “it’s me or her,” you’ve stopped being an educator and started being a cult leader.

That’s not activism. That’s brand protection.

It’s the same move politicians pull when they say, “if you don’t support this bill, you don’t support the troops.” It’s emotional blackmail dressed up like virtue.

Candace Owens is not my pope. Barry Cooper is not my pope either.

I don’t “choose” media personalities. I listen, I evaluate, and I keep moving. Voluntary exchange, remember? If your product sucks, I stop buying it.

Why this matters beyond one internet fight

A lot of you are tired. I get it.

The regime lies.
Corporate press launders those lies.
The tech platforms throttle and censor.
And then the alternative media, the people who swear they’re different, start copying the same control freak tactics.

That’s the part that should scare you.

Because the state doesn’t just censor with laws. It censors with culture. It trains people to believe that the solution to bad speech is less speech.

And once that virus gets into the “freedom” world, we start eating our own.

Not because we’re principled, but because we’re petty.

I’m not saying Barry can’t moderate his page

Before the comment section fills up with the “it’s his page, he can do what he wants” crowd, let me beat you to it:

Yes. He can.

Property rights apply online too. You don’t have a human right to post on somebody’s Facebook wall.

But here’s the other half of that sentence that people conveniently skip:

And I can call him a hypocrite for how he’s doing it.

If you claim you’re under attack by “paid operatives,” while quietly blocking dissent and purging supporters, you’re manipulating your audience. That’s not moderation. That’s message management.

Own it, or stop pretending you’re the victim.

A warning for the rest of us: stop outsourcing your spine

This is where I zoom out.

Liberty-minded people have a bad habit of turning commentators into replacement politicians. Same dependency, different costume.

We’re not supposed to be followers. We’re supposed to be adults.

So here’s a simple checklist I use now, and you should too:

• If someone demands loyalty, walk.

• If someone frames all criticism as enemy action, be suspicious.

• If someone can’t handle questions, don’t trust their answers.

• If someone blocks supporters for disagreeing, they’re not building a movement, they’re building a moat.

Mises didn’t ask you to pick a team. Rothbard didn’t ask you to worship a personality. Spooner didn’t write “No Treason” so you could go get bossed around by a YouTuber.

The solution is boring, but it works

Want to reduce this kind of drama and control?

Do what the state hates: decentralize.

• Follow people across platforms, not just one walled garden.

• Build email lists and direct relationships.

• Support creators directly when they earn it.

• And stop treating social media like it’s a public square. It’s a mall. The security guard can throw you out.

If your entire movement lives inside Facebook comment sections, you don’t have a movement. You have a permission slip.

Closing thought

I’m grateful for what Barry did back in the day. Exposing bad cops and teaching people how the system works matters. The Texas Observer

But I’m not interested in watching a guy who built a brand on “never get busted” turn into “never get questioned.”

If you’re going to claim you’re pro-freedom, act like it when it costs you something, like a little ego.

Because when you start censoring your own supporters, don’t blame “paid operatives” when the room gets quiet.

Blame the mirror.

Ryan “Dickie” Thompson
Disruptarian.com

Sources

• Barry Cooper Facebook post containing the quote|https://www.facebook.com/barry.cooper.716/photos/d41d8cd9/10229487570476691/

• Barry Cooper (activist) Wikipedia|https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_Cooper_%28activist%29

• Barry Cooper Videos (Texas Observer)|https://www.texasobserver.org/barry-cooper-videos/

• ‘Drug war insurgent’ flees U.S. claiming death threats (Progressive.org)|https://progressive.org/latest/drug-war-insurgent-flees-u.s.-claiming-death-threats/

• Screen Australia production funding announcement mentioning Never Get Busted!|https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/sa/media-centre/news/2023/05-04-eight-documentaries-production-funding

• Sundance 2025 episodic coverage mentioning Never Get Busted! (RogerEbert.com)|https://www.rogerebert.com/festivals/sundance-2025-big-swings-pay-off-in-the-episodic-program

• Never Get Busted! teaser (IF Magazine)|https://if.com.au/never-get-busted-teaser/

• Candace Owens infighting context (Washington Post)|https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2025/12/16/candace-owens-maga-conspiracy-charlie-kirk/

• My account of the Barry-Candace blowup (Disruptarian Facebook post)|https://www.facebook.com/disruptariancom/posts/pfbid02szYt3maH6bYcLL7efrUub49kaaDPBX1ETQiXVvSyi1LJiN7uGC1rvWfr9cpvTFhzl

Proof of Barry Cooper’s censorship

And the only paid bots that I can find is that Barry Cooper’s subscribers are at least 60% fake.
He has 131k subscribers on youtube.  Yet, he has only a 0.05% engagement rate.
He apparently uploads an average of one video per week, and yet with 131,000 subs, he only gets an average of 481 views on his videos each week.
All of this points to very very high rate of bot subscribers, rather than authentic growth.

Barry Cooper’s fake engagement on Never get Busted youtube channel

Barry Cooper’s fake engagement on Never get Busted youtube channel

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