The LaBarbera Award: PFOX’s Regina Griggs

Jim Burroway

September 5th, 2007

The LaBarbera AwardParents and Friends of Ex-Gays (PFOX) Executive Director Regina Griggs has long co-opted the status of a persecuted minority by describing a strange parallel universe where homosexuality is perfectly accepted and it’s the ex-gays who experience “discrimination.” Her organization works aggressively against gays and lesbian families at all levels, but if anyone expresses any opposition to her efforts they are labeled as engaging in “discrimination against the ex-gay community.” She’s even positioned “ex-gay” as another kind of orientation. To support this line of argument, Griggs has a long history of blowing criticisms out of proportion to prop up the idea that the so-called “ex-gay community” is a persecuted minority under constant siege.

In her most recent example, Griggs claimed that members of her PFOX organization were “attacked” at the Arlington, Va County Fair:

As happens every year, gay activists disrupted our booth activities. They screamed obscenities, threw our materials from the exhibit table to the ground, insisted we recognize their same-sex “spouses,” demanded that PFOX leave, and hit a PFOX volunteer because he is ex-gay.

One gay man went so far as to hit our ex-gay volunteer because he refused to recant his ex-gay testimony. We summoned a police officer, who ejected the gay man off of the fairgrounds. Our ex-gay volunteer decided not to press assault charges against the gay man because he wanted to turn the other check as Jesus had done.

This is not the first year that PFOX has had to summon the police for protection from gay activists.

This story was picked up all around the anti-gay circuit, including Focus on the Family’s Citizenlink webzine and Family News In Focus radio program. But it appears that this incident didn’t really happen. Ex-Gay Watch’s David Roberts did some digging and has the story:

Since PFOX stated that the police were “summoned” and that they “ejected the gay man off the fairgrounds” we decided to check with the Arlington County Police Department…

We contacted the Arlington PD and ended up speaking with John Lisle of the Media Relations/Legislative Affairs Office. He had no initial knowledge of such an incident. After checking briefly, he again said that no one was aware of such an incident. So we sent a copy of the PFOX statement to him at which time he agreed to check more thoroughly. After over two days of research, there was nothing he could add to his statement; no report exists and no one recalls such an incident.

David Roberts also learned that Arlington County Fair officials hadn’t heard of any problems either. In a follow-up story, he reported:

Yesterday, we spoke with Jackie Abrams, Vice Chair of the Arlington County Fair. According to Abrams, no physical altercation occurred, police were never called and no one was ejected from the fairgrounds – she was emphatic and certain. “I was in radio contact with the other board members during the Fair, and definitely would have known if the police had been summoned. It did not happen [her emphasis],” said Abrams. She added that her calls to PFOX, and specifically to PFOX president Regina Griggs, had gone unanswered.

David Roberts also spoke with two eyewitnesses who worked at nearby booths. Each reported an incident of a heated discussion, but neither of them saw anything physical — no shoving, no hitting, no police or fair officials escorting anyone off the property.

In other words, there is no shred of evidence that anything happened the way Griggs describe it. In fact, all evidence suggests that this is just another one of her many attention-grabbing stunts.

This isn’t the first time Griggs has claimed victimhood status for ex-gays. It’s been a long-running theme of hers, and she’s been very diligent in coopting the experience and the language of the gay rights movement. One of her best examples can be found in this letter she sent to the APA last March:

The ex-gay movement is a civil rights movement to ensure the inclusion of former homosexuals in all realms of society and to support the ex-gay community’s equal access to schools on the same level as gays currently enjoy. Ex-gays and their supporters should not have to be closeted for fear of other’s negative reactions or disapproval. They do not think something is wrong with them because they decided to fulfill their heterosexual potential. Nor do they believe others should condemn them for the personal decision they have made for their lives. Because of the abuse heaped upon them by society, former homosexuals experience discrimination at every level.

The PFOX website’s “About” page has more examples where the “ex-gay community” experiences “abuse heaped upon them by society.” And in the most amazing turn of logic, they go so far as to claim that anti-discrimination and hate crime laws which identify sexual orientation as a factor for protection somehow “legitimize intolerance against former homosexuals” — a notion that is both ludicrous and blatantly false. The fact is, these laws protect everyone regardless of sexual orientation — including non-gays of all stripes, ex-gays among them.

But it’s the last point which makes Grigg’s hysterical notions of “discrimination at every level” so particularly outrageous. Terrance Heath recently began a huge undertaking with the LGBT Hate Crimes Project, and if Grigg’s really wanted to understand the face of intolerance, she should look at a few of these examples:

Real victims of discriminationMichelle Abdill and Rhonda Ellis of Medford, Oregon were shot execution style on December 4, 1995 by Robert Acremant, who wrote a letter to his hometown newspaper saying that it was easier to kill them knowing they were lesbians.

Gary Matson and Winfield Mowder of Redding, California were murdered on July 1, 1999 by white supremacist brothers Benjamin Matthew Williams and James Tyler Williams, who confessed to killing the couple because they were gay.

Author Warren, a developmentally disabled gay man from Grant Town, West Virginia, was murdered on July 3, 2000 by two teenagers. After kicking and beating him, they drove him to the edge of town ran over him four times to disguise his death as a hit-and-run.

Guin “Richie” Phillips disappeared on June 17, 2003. His body was found on June 25, 2003, stuffed in a suitcase in Rough River Lake. During Joshua Cottrell’s trial, Cottrell’s aunt and cousin testified that he planned to kill Phillips because he was gay.

Michael Sandy died on October 13, 2006 after being hit by a car while trying to escape four attackers. His attackers later said they targeted Sandy because they were seeking gays to attack and rob.

Griggs might do well to consider that a little bit of perspective is in order. There were 1,171 hate crime incidents in 2005 based on sexual orientation. Twenty-three of those crimes were anti-heterosexual. It’s quite possible that a few ex-gays might be caught up in that mix. If so, those crimes are every bit as deplorable as the other 1,148. But to try to compare the “ex-gay community’s” experience with the very real discrimination and harassment that gays and lesbians experience across the country is beyond offensive.

If the “ex-gay community” has experienced abuse and discrimination “at every level,” where are the ex-gays who were kicked out of the military for being ex-gay? Where are the ex-gays who have been fired from their jobs because they were ex-gay? Where is their answer to Daniel Fetty?

The “ex-gay community” should consider themselves blessed that they have no such answer.

But Regina Griggs isn’t interested in counting blessings. Instead, she’d rather count something else. Notice how she ends her rant about the Arlington County Fair:

… Almost every day we are on the front lines suffering harassment and injustices merely because we demand our equal rights.

The public eats up our information because they have never been exposed to factual truth about same-sex attractions. Teens especially are eager for our educational literature. But our brochures and flyers cost money to print. We also have to pay for exhibit fees and travel. If you would like to help with costs, please make a tax deductible donation to …

Nice. Milking a non-event using hysterical hyperbole to raise money. The LaBarbera Award was created to highlight “the most outrageous, offensive, malevolent, crazy, or excessive statement or claim.” Regina Griggs more than earned the award just on her latest drama-queen antics alone. Capping them with a fundraising appeal is just the rhetorical equivalent of running up the score. Congratulations, Regina. You’ll be a hard act to follow.

PFOX is an Exodus member ministry.

Emily K

September 5th, 2007

They want “all the rights that homosexuals enjoy?” So in other words, they want the right to be kicked out of the military, to be fired from teaching positions, to be banned from marrying, to be banned from adopting children, and to be banned from obtaining civil inheritance of any kind from their spouses?

Ok, they can have it. But if I were them, I wouldn’t set the bar so low.

David Roberts

September 5th, 2007

Griggs has definitely earned the honor! Great post, Jim.

David

September 5th, 2007

Here’s another (not really stealth) Focus on the Family outlet that repeated the bogus story.

Roger

September 5th, 2007

PFOX – Absolute Deception and Fabrication to the Masses. The LaBarbera Award is RIGHTFULLY awarded to Regina Griggs and her gang of Liars. IF there was any truth to PFOX’s allegations at Arlington County Fair, The Washington Post and local DC Area TV News would have reported it, they did not. PFOX’s reputation in DC area is well tarnished with their prior shenanigans in Montgomery County, MD. It’s also interesting how PFOX’s Message Board is pure propaganda by not allowing comments to be posted on it, it’s a one sided affair.

Emproph

September 5th, 2007

She’s even positioned “ex-gay” as another kind of orientation.

Who knew that being openly in the closet was an “orientation.”

People in glass closets shouldn’t throw stones.

John

September 5th, 2007

Aside from Richard Cohen, I wonder how many ex-gays are even members of PFOX.

Lynn David

September 6th, 2007

John said….

Aside from Richard Cohen, I wonder how many ex-gays are even members of PFOX.

Who says Cohen is truly an ex-gay?

Robguy

September 6th, 2007

I am an ex-heterosexual. Once I was in bondage to the distructive straight lifestyle, but I was freed be Jebsus.

What is the deal with identifying yourself by something that you’re not? The hasbians who don’t turn anti-gay simply identify as straight or bi.

Samantha Davis

September 7th, 2007

You know, you sure have been giving out a lot of LaBarbera Awards. You really ought to think about doing a bi-yearly “Phelps Award” too.

And about ex-gays being discriminated against: if they really are ex-gay then they are straight, just like the rest of society that is apparently discriminating against them. I rather think it’s like an ex-bald person saying that their ex-hairstyle is hurting their ability to get a job, it just doesn’t make a lick of sense.

Unless, of course, they are insinuating that gay people are discriminating against ex-gays which is kind of like saying that black people discriminate against the Klan.

When you get down to it “ex-gay pride” is far to similar to “white power” for comfort.

Tommy Korioth

September 10th, 2007

This week I took the time to compile my own list of Republican’s culture of corruption. (I went ahead and included the pedophiles.) I thought I’d finish in a couple of hours; it took me three days. Last time I counted I had over 200 names. After reading Griggs I thought you might enjoy a gander.

http://fluffer-union.blogspot.com/

It’s the list of pedophiles that best represent the Republicans.

Tommy Korioth

jfmckenna

September 11th, 2007

It is tragic that gays are sometimes killed. It’s worth noting however that for every one that’s killed in this way, there are a thousand who die before their time because of the infections that result from gay intercourse. Anal sex usually pierces the rectal tissue, introducing feces-borne diseases into the blood stream, while simultaneously introducing sperm into the colon, which reduces the ability of the body to resist those diseases.

Timothy Kincaid

September 11th, 2007

jfmckenna,

Your accusations are baseless. Your “science” is faulty and inaccurate. Nothing in your last sentence is true.

Other than HIV, I am unaware of any life-shortening diseases that are disproportionately effecting gay people.

I find it telling that you seek to diminish violence against gay people. I think it exposes a great deal about your attitudes and, well, let’s just say I wouldn’t want to be in a dark alley with you around.

jfmckenna

September 11th, 2007

Mr. Kinkaid — Wake up:

Seven types of venereal disease, nine types of liver ailments (e.g., hepatitis), and 10 types of trauma (e.g., fecal incontinence). In other words, 26 non-AIDS diseases. JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENT MEDICINE

Reviews of the medical literature, including one that covered the findings of 20 different medical journals, concluding that “homosexual men are at particularly high risk of acquiring hepatitis B” and then it listed 10 other diseases. E.G., THE NEW ENGLAND JOURNAL OF MEDICINE AND THE JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION. ONE DOCTOR, IN HIS DISCUSSION OF THE NON-AIDS DISEASES, CITES SCHOLARLY ARTICLES FROM 27 MEDICAL JOURNALS.

“In a major Canadian centre, life expectancy at age 20 years for gay and bisexual men is 8 to 20 years less than for all men. If the same pattern of mortality were to continue, we estimate that nearly half of gay and bisexual men currently aged 20 years will not reach their 65th birthday. The gay men in this urban centre are now experiencing a life expectancy similar to that experienced by all men in Canada in the year 1871.” INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EPIDEMIOLOGY, PUBLISHED BY OXFORD UNIVERSITY

The exclusivity of the relationship did not diminish the incidence of unhealthy sexual acts, which are commonplace among homosexuals. An English study published in the same issue of the journal AIDS concurred, finding that most “unsafe” sex acts among homosexuals occur in steady relationships. AIDS (A JOURNAL)
Human Papillomavirus (HPV) More than twenty types of HPV are incurable STDs that can infect the genital tract of both men and women. A San Francisco study of gay and bisexual men revealed that HPV infection was almost universal among HIV-positive men, and that 60 percent of HIV-negative gay men carried HPV. THE HOMOSEXUAL NEWSPAPER THE WASHINGTON BLADE

Hepatitis A:: “Outbreaks of hepatitis A among men who have sex with men are a recurring problem in many large cities in the industrialized world.” Hepatitis B: The CDC reports that MSM are at increased risk for hepatitis B. Hepatitis C Although less so than with hepatitis A and B, MSM who engage in unsafe sexual practices remain at increased risk for contracting hepatitis C. THE MORTALITY AND MORBIDITY WEEKLY REPORT PUBLISHED BY THE CDC

Proctitis and Proctocolitis are inflammations of the rectum and colon that cause pain, bloody rectal discharge and rectal spasms. Proctitis is associated with STDs such as gonorrhea, chlamydia, herpes, and syphilis that are widespread among homosexuals. HEALTH IMPLICATIONS + THE SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASE INFORMATION CENTER OF THE JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION
While the incidence of anal cancer in the United States is only 0.9/100,000, that number soars to 35/100,000 for homosexuals. That rate doubles again for those who are HIV positive. DR. JOEL PALEFSKY, A LEADING EXPERT IN THE FIELD OF ANAL CANCER

A study of the records of 1,408 lesbians found that women who have sex with women are at significantly higher risk for certain sexually transmitted diseases: “We demonstrated a higher prevalence of BV (bacterial vaginosis), hepatitis C, and HIV risk behaviors in WSW compared with controls.” SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED INFECTIONS

Timothy Kincaid

September 11th, 2007

I’m sorry, jfmckenna, but we require REAL substantiation, not just names of journals. Provide publishing dates and authors.

Since you clearly lifted this from some website, you could just give the link so that we may answer you directly. Things like “a study of the record…” just doesn’t meet our standards.

Jim Burroway at this site has (to my immediate recognition) debunked most of these. But to show you exact responses we need exact sources.

Timothy Kincaid

September 11th, 2007

jfmckenna,

You have nine accusations (by my count) so let’s number them thusly.

Number 3. The “20 years younger” lie has been debunked by our brilliant Jim Burroway here. (Is it embarrasing to quote a nazi admirer?)

Number 5. HPV does lead to increased risk of both cervical cancer in women and anal cancer in men. While cervical cancer is not unheard of, anal cancer is extremely rare. A vaccine for HPV has been found and is being introduced in both the gay and straight community. Ironically, social conservatives oppose the vaccine under the rather unfounded notion that it will increase promiscuity.

Number 8. What you failed to mention is that this increase is due to HPV, a virus for which a vaccine has just been found, as mentioned above.

As this vaccine is just now being introduced to gay men, it may take a while for the 0.00035 likelihood of anal cancer to decrease amongst gay males.

As you provide sources I’m sure you remaining claims will prove to be as equally unsubstantial.

Jim Burroway

September 11th, 2007

jfmckenna;

Thousands? Thousands?

Do you know how absolutely ridiculous you sound? And with no substantiation, no less.

Let me give you my perspective. I know quite a few gay men myself, having been one of them my whole life. I know about as many gay people who die from the diseases you mention (with the notable exception of AIDS) as I do straight people.

Further, your arguments are nonsensical, linking conclusions from utterly unrelated articles pulled completely out of context.

I will only go into one example. You cite:

“In a major Canadian centre, life expectancy at age 20 years for gay and bisexual men is 8 to 20 years less than for all men. If the same pattern of mortality were to continue, we estimate that nearly half of gay and bisexual men currently aged 20 years will not reach their 65th birthday. The gay men in this urban centre are now experiencing a life expectancy similar to that experienced by all men in Canada in the year 1871.” INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EPIDEMIOLOGY, PUBLISHED BY OXFORD UNIVERSITY

Well guess what? That article was derived from data taken during the hight of the AIDS Crisis, before effective treatments were available. The lead researcher of that article noted how anti-gay extremists (much like you) misused his data and wrote in 2001:

If we were to repeat this analysis today the life expectancy of gay and bisexual men would be greatly improved. Deaths from HIV infection have declined dramatically in this population since 1966… We do not condone the use of our research in a manner that restricts the political or human rights of gay and bisexual men or any other group. (Hogg, RS et al. Intl’l J. Epidemiology 30 (2001):1499.)

And that last sentence, in my view, is the bottom line. I have no patience for trolls or for those who disregard our comments policy. Particularly these points:

— Deliberate quoting of claims, opinions, research, or other statements made by others outside of their appropriate context.

— Using claims, opinions, research, or other statements about selective groups of people or individuals to justify broad defamation or discrimination against entire categories of people.

— Extensive repetition of third-party propaganda. (Your multi-page tome copied in whole from an unidentified source was so long it got caught in our span filter)

We welcome a variety of viewpoints. We don not welcome trolling or abuses in our comments section. Keep that in mind with future comments. Meanwhile, I will be moderating your posts until I get the sense that you have read our comments policy, understand it, and will abide by it.

Jim Burroway

September 11th, 2007

And if anyone else thinks that pulling legitimate medical research out of context to vilify an entire group of people, well two can play that game.

Emily K

September 11th, 2007

jfmckenna:

So where does that leave gay WOMEN like me? Anal sex isn’t exactly the benchmark for us.

Actually, according to the Center for Disease Control, women who only have sex with women are least at risk for HIV transmission:

“To date, there are no confirmed cases of female-to-female sexual transmission of HIV in the United States database (K. McDavid, CDC, oral communication, March 2005).”

Do you have a response to that?

DanFarrell

September 12th, 2007

This is an interesting blog because of what it would like to leave out. It’s like having a blog about a Iraq that didn’t mention the killing. It is legitimate to analyze what’s in the best interest of gay and lesbian people and not resort to thought control about it.

Timothy Kincaid

September 12th, 2007

Dan,

I don’t understand your point.

If there are real and legitimate claims to be made, let them be made. But bogus “studies” with false conclusions listed like some rant against gay folks isn’t dialog.

It’s untruthful propaganda and we don’t allow that. It serves no purpose.

If someone wants to discuss a study and wants to provide source documents he can check to see if the study has already been discussed here (and most likely debunked) and then provide a link so that we can verify his claims.

Jim Burroway

September 12th, 2007

For your information, the individual in question continues to try to post comments, including one asking me what do I need to see to be convinced of the errors of my ways, “People writhing at your feet?”

In all my 46 years, I have never seen anthing close to that.

Those kinds of comments are not constructive. He also tried to re-post what appeared to be an entire copyrighted article.

I see no reason to allow propaganda like that. That’s the perogative of any editor or publisher. That’s our perogative as well.

Opposing opinions are welcome. We get several quite often and we value them when they are offered in the spirit of dialog and discussion. But we do expect a certain amount of decorum and the ability to document claims. We are only interested in discussing facts — facts which may be in dispute by one side or another, but facts nonetheless. Not propaganda.

We also expect for comments to remain on topic. Go back to read the article in question and then his first comment. It was clearly off-topic.

By the way, “pro-gay” commenters have gotten in trouble for the same reasons.

Ben in Oakland

September 13th, 2007

I’ll throw in a few thoughts here as well. Absolutely, the mis-use of so called medical statistics has no place in rational discussion, especially when it is used, like Paul cameron and McKenna, to defame a group of people with a politicaly motivated agenda and no regard to actual facts.

Gay men in monogamous relationships do not, in general, have any of the issues the writer has indicated–any more than do heteros. There is nothing inherent in gay male sex that makes it dangerous for gay men. The problems arise when they are having multiple, usually anonymous sexual partners, AND engaging in behaviour which has increased risk associated with it. And, as Emily pointed out, the health issues are virtually non-existent for women.

And there is simple, one-word solution to the problem, if McKenna is actually interested in solving the problem rather than using it as a yet another club to beat up on gay people for his social, religious, and political agenda.

That word is MARRIAGE. Studies have consistently shown that married people live better, longer, healthier, more productive lives. Gay men in monogamous relationships will not be exposing their partners to diseases carried by people outside of the relationship.

So what about it, mcKenna? Can you get behind that?

a. mcewen

September 13th, 2007

it sounds like jf mckenna got his information almost word for word from timothy dailey (family research council) and john r. diggs.

both have been refuted several times on this webpage and others.

Nikko

September 20th, 2007

Great stuff, Jim Burroway. Oh, and Ben in Oakland, thumbs up for your great responses!! I appreciate your efforts…I wish everybody read this great site!

Anthony Falzarano

October 26th, 2007

Dear Readers,

Now the pro-gay political movement has become just like the “thugs” of yesteryear who would beat up gay people and then lie about their actions.

As most of you know as the director of Parents and Friends Christian Ministries here in West Palm Beach, FL not to be confused with (PFOX) in Washington,DC., I am not very fond of Regina Griggs however when she is rigt she is right and the gay community needs to take resposibility for one of its own and admit that intentional harm aws inflicted upon an EX_GAY man at the Arlington fair in Arlington, VA (near DC) last month. My research revealed that an ex-gay man named David Elliott was physically hit by a gay man at the Arlington fair. Now it seems that gay men have become the “bullies of the playground” Congratulations gay political community! I hope that your proud of yourselves!

And then despicable liars like Wayne Besen (a gay political lobbyist with no life) has the nerve the “cover-up” the tragedy alond with a gay member of the Arlington, VA governemnt Jay Fisette.

Talk about “hate crimes”, I think that Mr Fiseette and Mr Beses should be arrested and charged with a hate crime along with the gay thug who thought that he could get away with assaulting an ex-gay man. Then they need to be sent for sensitivity treatment along with Mr Roberts and Mr Airhart/

I know David Elliott. I personally counselled Mr Elliott when he came out of the gay lifestyle over 9 years ago as an ex-gay born-again Jewish man and know him to be an honest man.

Ex-gay Watch and Box Turtle owe Mrs Griggs (and especially David Elliott) an apology.

The gay political movement has been so sly to paint gay people as victims and in many different cases this is a fact however what you may not have realized by attepting to seek legislation to protect gays under our laws of the land, you have seta precedent and now have opened the door for adding EX_GAYS as a protected class. You have opened Pandora’s Box.

My name is Anthony Falzarano. I am an ex-gay and I have had gay people spit on me (which is outrageous in the age of AIDS0. Two homosexuals have tried to molest my own son, I ahve been sworn at, lied about defamed, slandered and gossipped about. I ahve paid the price for becoming an ex-gay Christian but I want you to know that Almighty God has protected me (even when my own brothers and sisters at Exodus turned against me).

God protected David Elliott. He even did the right thing by “turning the other cheek” and God has protected me. The ex-gay movement is here to stay. You will not be able to stomp us out. The more you persecute us the more we will grow. You cannot have victory when you come up against God’s ex-gay children… We’re here…We’re ex-queer…get used to it!!!

David Roberts

October 26th, 2007

“My research revealed that an ex-gay man named David Elliott was physically hit by a gay man at the Arlington fair.”

Really, what research would that be?

Martin Lanigan

October 26th, 2007

I quote Anthony Falzarano:

“And then despicable liars like Wayne Besen (a gay political lobbyist with no life) has the nerve the “cover-up” the tragedy alond with a gay member of the Arlington, VA governemnt Jay Fisette.”

If I am not mistaken Anthony, you are in breach of this website’s Comments Policy. An apology to Mr. Bessen might be in order for this ad hominem attack.

In my opinion, your words are very angry and strident. Not at all consistent with the tone that you have adopted in your previous pious posts.

Jason

October 26th, 2007

Nobody tried to cover up anything, in fact, they searched for the truth. It was found, it was dealt with.

Anthony does not also appear to be educated at all with this little gem “I am an ex-gay and I have had gay people spit on me (which is outrageous in the age of AIDS0”

1. You can’t get HIV from saliva. HIV does not survive outside a protective environment (like the body), so even if there was any of the virus in the spit, it would be dead by the time it hit you.
2. It is a stereotype to suggest that all gay people have HIV.

Timothy Kincaid

October 26th, 2007

Anthony,

I appreciate you providing the name of the individual that was involved in the fracas.

The whole situation has been confusing because PFOX initially released contradictory information and then all the potential eye witnesses did not see anything remotely similar to PFOX’s claim. In fact, the initial police response directly contradicted Griggs.

If indeed Mr. Elliott was hit, that was completely inappropriate and wrong. And in the state of California that would be a hate crime based on sexual orientation.

You rightly point out that hate crimes cut both ways. They protect ex-gays as well as gays. But I do not view this as a Pandora’s Box; I view it as right and reasonable.

Mr. Elliott chose not to prosecute his attacker for whatever reason. And to the extent that the story is correct, I condemn the other person involved. As, I’m sure, do all of those who write at either BoxTurtleBulletin or ExGayWatch.

As for your ranting about AIDS and spit, I think in your haste to condemn gay people you forgot that your audience is not the usual fearful ignorant branch of anti-gay social conservatives. Rather that strike terror and anger towards those ‘reckless’ homosexuals (as would be the response in your usual listeners), you just made yourself look ridiculous.

You really should think before you write, Anthony.

manicmelanie

October 29th, 2007

I just joined and wanted to say hi to everyone. Also, I noticed that the forum runs off my screen.

Anyone else notice that?

melanie

Anthony Falzarano

November 2nd, 2007

Tim,

My remarks were posted in an attempt to support Regina Griggs claim that David Eliott was indeed harmed and battered at the fair in Arlington, VA.

When gays spit on peaceful ex-gays at the March on Washington, when gay people invade the “private” PFOX and Exodus National Conference

When gay men and woman refused to act responsibly and close gay bath houses acroos the United States when the AIDS crisis hit in the early 80’s allowing the blood of millions of gay people to come upon the gay community because lust was more important than acting responsibly

When gay newspapers don’t allow paid advertisements for ex-gay meetings for the homosexual men and woman who are truly unhappy being gay and want out of the lifestyle.

When “outed” Congressman Mark Foley is forced to resign because of the outcry from the gay political community concerning his improprieties, however Gerry Studds is allowed to “bop” an underage congressional male page and not be kicked out of Congress

When the American Psychiatric Association is “bullied” by gay activists to remove homosexuality from the DSM III in the early 1970’s without a bit of evidence that homosexuals are “born that way”

When gay political activists attemt to remove the blame away fro the homosexual community for the spread of AIDS in this country

SOMETHING IS WRONG IN AMERICA!!!

John

November 2nd, 2007

Anthony,

If this is really where you are coming from, I strongly urge you to get help. You seem to have so much anger, and need to place so much blame. It isn’t a healthy place to be.

Do you really believe the things that you write or does it serve some other purpose?

Anthony Falzarano

November 3rd, 2007

Dear John,

You are the one who needs help when you remain silent as you also witness the events of the gay subculture. I’ve gotten help fro the great physician-Jesus the Christ AAF

Jim Burroway

November 3rd, 2007

Anthony,

You can post long rants of unsubstantiated complaints on other web sites, including your own. This is not the place for you to try to claim victimhood. Nothing is wrong with America that people respecting each other cannot fix. When you decide to engage in respectful dialog, your comments will be welcome. Until then, I’m putting you on moderation.

Timothy Kincaid

November 5th, 2007

If those are the worst instances of the problems of America, we’d be in pretty good shape.

Anthony Falzarano

October 5th, 2008

Poor,poor Mr Kinkaid,

When you have become so spiritually dark that the above offenses against nature don’t bother you. When you don’t care that our gay brothers were infected with AIDS because the sin of lust and greed kept the gay bathhouses open in the 1980’s tells me that you are a very sick person. Open your eyes Mr. Kinkaid before you become as the bible says a “total reprobate”. Look at Romans 1; 18-32, it’s talking about you!

Timothy Kincaid

October 5th, 2008

Hello Anthony

Still obsessing about bath-houses in the 80’s, are you?

Sigh… why are so many ex-gays so very angry, bitter, and downright unpleasant?

You really need to connect with Christ, Anthony, not with your form of Christianity. Christ can bring you the joy and happiness that comes with being free from the Law of sin and death. He can lift that bondage of condemnation and terror and bring you peace. You can lose the anger and the need to condemn others and the fear that you just might not be good enough and the life of constant striving to be something other than what you are.

And if there’s one thing that your writing reveals, it’s that you truly need to find some peace and happiness in your life.

Jason D

October 6th, 2008

Anthony:
“When gays spit on peaceful ex-gays at the March on Washington, when gay people invade the “private” PFOX and Exodus National Conference
When gay men and woman refused to act responsibly and close gay bath houses acroos the United States when the AIDS crisis hit in the early 80’s allowing the blood of millions of gay people to come upon the gay community because lust was more important than acting responsibly
When gay newspapers don’t allow paid advertisements for ex-gay meetings for the homosexual men and woman who are truly unhappy being gay and want out of the lifestyle.
When “outed” Congressman Mark Foley is forced to resign because of the outcry from the gay political community concerning his improprieties, however Gerry Studds is allowed to “bop” an underage congressional male page and not be kicked out of Congress”

Okay, let’s roll with this. Anthony, if you expect me, as a gay man, to be responsible for these things: I expect you, as a Christian, to be responsible for:
-The Crusades
-The Spanish Inquisition
-The Halocaust
-Every word out of the mouths of Phelps family.

Sound fair?

“When the American Psychiatric Association is “bullied” by gay activists to remove homosexuality from the DSM III in the early 1970’s without a bit of evidence that homosexuals are “born that way””

It’s good that you put warning quotes around “bullied” as it’s entirely a baldfaced lie. I’m surprised you were so honest in your writing as to admit that your allegation doesn’t have any merit.
You say it was removed without evidence, I say it was placed in the DSM III without a shred of evidence to begin with. To this day, no one has been able to prove any pathology in homosexuality, so there was never a good reason to put it in a list of mental disorders in the first place.

“When gay political activists attemt to remove the blame away fro the homosexual community for the spread of AIDS in this country”

HIV is a virus. It does not care who has it, or who gets it. That is the basics of viral pathology. The Homosexual Community isn’t responsible for the spread of HIV, human sexuality is responsible. Lack of education during the 1980’s is responsible. Willful ignorance by government and media is responsible. And for those who have HIV and knowingly spread it to others, THEY THEMSELVES are responsible. “We” didn’t create this disease, we certainly didn’t ask for it. HIV is an STD that ANYONE can get, and if you look worldwide it is HIV patients that are HETEROSEXUAL who make up the large majority of cases. So if we get to blame gays in the US, we get to blame all of heterosexuality outside the US. AND since this blame game is a numbers game, it’s based on who is the bigger group, then clearly heterosexuals are to blame. There are way more heterosexuals in the world then there are gay people, and as stated before there are more heterosexuals with HIV than gays.

“SOMETHING IS WRONG IN AMERICA!!!”

Absolutely. There are too many people like you who are more interested in playing the blame game then you are at actually doing something useful, helpful, and meaningful with your life. You can’t stop talking about the speck in someone else’s eye long enough to notice the tree trunk sticking out of yours.

Priya Lynn

October 6th, 2008

Anthony said “When the American Psychiatric Association is “bullied” by gay activists to remove homosexuality from the DSM III in the early 1970’s without a bit of evidence that homosexuals are “born that way””.

Whether or not gays are born that way is irrelevant to whether or not gayness should be in the DSM. What is relevant is whether or not gayness is a mental illness and work done by Evelyn Hooker in the 1950s showed that gays were indistinguishable from straights on common measures of mental health. It is for this reason that gayness was removed from the DSM and as Jason said it should never have been in there in the first place because there was never any evidence that gayness was a pathology.

j

June 24th, 2010

How come you never see anybody offer a study that shows that active homosexuals are anywhere near as healthy as people who don’t engage in that kind of behavior? If no such evidence exist, why doesn’t that explode the whole rationale for legitimating homosexual behavior?

Timothy Kincaid

June 24th, 2010

J,

There are many studies that find that gay men and women are just as healthy as heterosexuals.

You simply live in an echo chamber that repeats lies to you on a regular basis and shields you from outside input (“secular scientists are atheists who hate God”) and so you only hear what you already believe.

I pity you.

j

June 24th, 2010

Skip the pity and name one.

Christopher

June 24th, 2010

J, would you accept the results of such a study if one were presented to you? It seems that you’ve already made up your mind.

Can you name studies that indicate that “active” homosexuals aren’t as healthy as heterosexuals? Perhaps not, although sexual orientation is defined by a great deal more than behavior. The issue, ultimately, isn’t whether homosexual “behavior” should be legitimized, but whether people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgendered should be given the same rights as heterosexuals. You’re oversimplifying a complex issue.

j

June 24th, 2010

Skip the redefinition and name one.

Christopher

June 24th, 2010

I’m not redefining anything, J. I’m pointing out that you’re attempting to simplify something that’s much more complicated than just behavior.

However, perhaps you should look to the recent study authored by Kerith Conron, and published in the American Journal of Public Health which found that gay men tended to be thinner than heterosexual men. While thinner doesn’t necessarily always mean healthier it is true that obesity is linked to a lot of health problems.

j

June 24th, 2010

That was it??!! WOW!! That was it??!! Let me see if I have this straight. When you look up the subject of gay health and see study after study saying that gay sex results in dozens of problems and 70% of the AIDS cases are gay men and on and on, and when you want to know whether there’s another side to the story, what you get is the claim that gays ARE THINNER? This is stunning to me!

Jim Burroway

June 24th, 2010

J.

There are plenty of studies that examine gay vs straight health measures. Only the ones showing gays with poorer outcomes are trumpted by the sites you visit. I’ve seen a ton of other studies sugggesting otherwise, and used a small smattering of them in my parody demonstrating how organizations where you get your information selectively distort the scientific research. That parody is here, complete with all of the footnotes to the source material.

Read it and learn. Learn that many LGBT people have similar health outcomes as straight people, learn that many straight populations have poorer health measures than gay people, and most importantly, learn how easy it is for your echo chamber to distort the medical research to lie about gay people.

Priya Lynn

June 24th, 2010

J there are no studies that show that gay sex results in dozens of problems. You’re confusing promiscuity with gay sex. Gay sex doesn’t result in any more problems then heterosexual sex.

Jim Burroway

June 24th, 2010

By the way, “J”. It turns out that you are actually the same “jfmckenna” who trolled this very same thread nearly three years ago. We carefully debunked everything you threw at us then. It’s pretty pathetic that this has bothered you for all this time.

Timothy Kincaid

June 24th, 2010

Oh, “J” (John F. McKenna) is no casual objector to health studies. He not only believes the lies, he repeats them as “an arsenal of good responses” to “the gay agenda.”

Timothy Kincaid

June 24th, 2010

Oh gosh, just to humor J, let’s remind him that a study out this month showed that gay men are fitter:

After scrutinizing a health survey of more than 67,000 Massachusetts residents between the ages of 18 and 64, the researchers found that 14 percent of gay men were obese versus 21 percent of straight men.

And obesity impacts heart health.

But somehow I very much doubt that “J” is actually interested in studies. He just wants to be an obnoxious jerk.

j

June 24th, 2010

Sorry, I admit to not know anything about the whole issue, which is why I was trying to figure out the evidence.

Christopher Waldrop

June 24th, 2010

Timothy, the study you’re citing is the same one I referred to, the one that “J” has dismissed as the only study I could come up with, when in fact it was only one study that I’ve cited–not the only study out there. It seems to simply be the most recent in a long line of studies.

Even though “J” has made it clear, through both his sarcasm and his poor grammar, that he’s not interested in serious debate, I do wonder if he can come up with a single study, or even some evidence from a credible source, that being homosexual is inherently unhealthy.

Timothy Kincaid

June 24th, 2010

Christopher,

Sorry, missed that. As I thought “name one” didn’t actually mean name one.

Timothy Kincaid

June 24th, 2010

j
June 24th, 2010 | LINK | EDIT

Sorry, I admit to not know anything about the whole issue, which is why I was trying to figure out the evidence.

That is a lie.

While it is true that you don’t really know any thing about the whole issue, you certainly seem to think you do. You wrote a whole piece about it on VirtueOnline.

It was factually incorrect. But that’s not too surprising.

Because you, sir, are a liar.

I don’t use that term here for those with whom I disagree. I don’t throw “liar” around on the web.

But your blatant attempt to come here and make such an obviously false statement – which I suppose you thought you’d get away with – leaves me no option.

We have no use for liars here.

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