Update (4:10 p.m.): After the Human Rights Campaign condemned the magazine's homophobic sponsor email, The Weekly Standard (sort of) explained how the bigoted message happened to get sent to its readers. In Weekly Standard publisher Terry Eastland's words the "vetting system broke down" -- a sure sign that they're sprinting away from culpability. "This is obviously not the sort of advertising that we would accept, nor will we accept it in the future," Eastland told Politico's Dylan Byers,. "It was just one of these cases where an ad came in, it was not fully vetted in the way it should be, and it got out."

Original Post: An email sent to the The Weekly Standard's list almost looks like a spoof of a hate-infused rant, but as far as we can tell, the conservative magazine helmed by Bill Kristol is fine with offering sponsors a platform for bigots. Salon's Justin Elliott rushed up a post when the e-mail subtly labelled "A message from our sponsor" hit his inbox on Thursday. "This is the sort of language one would expect to find in Ron Paul’s 80s-era newsletters the Standard has been so critical of," Elliott wrote, adding that he's contacted The Weekly Standard for an explanation of how it ended up anti-gay activist Eugene Delgaudio bid for donations to stop the Student Non-Discrimination Act from -- he calls it the "Homosexual Classroom Act" -- was sent out to its thousands, if not tens of thousands of subscribers. For a taste of Delgaudio's rhetoric, here's a bit of his pitch:

…that’s just the beginning of the Homosexual Lobby’s radical agenda. In fact, it will set them up to ram through their entire perverted vision for a homosexual America. My friend, I’m sure I don’t have to tell you this is not a fight we can afford to lose. …And their dangerously close to ramming their perversity into law.

In California, lawmakers want to "require schools to portray lesbians, homosexuals, transsexuals … as positive role models to children in all public schools." Sexual deviants being held up as models of virtue? If that makes you as sick as it makes me, you simply must join me in this battle for America’s children.

We're on the edge of our seats waiting to hear the full story from The Weekly Standard. Read the full email at Salon.

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Adam Clark Estes