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News and commentary about the anti-gay lobby“Now you must raise your children up in a world where that union of man and box turtle is on the same legal footing as man and wife…”
News and commentary about the anti-gay lobbyMarch 19th, 2008
The so-called “Professional journalists” at CitizenLink are at it again. They’re claiming vindication over a new pamphlet (PDF: 132KB/6 pages) by the American Psychological Association. That pamphlet repeats what we’ve been saying for quite some time: Nobody knows what “causes” homosexuality. According to the APA:
There is no consensus among scientists about the exact reasons that an individual develops a heterosexual, bisexual, gay or lesbian orientation. Although much research has examined the possible genetic, hormonal, developmental, social and cultural influences on sexual orientation, no findings have emerged that permit scientists to conclude that sexual orientation is determined by any particular factor or factors. Many think that nature and nurture both place complex roles…
The mere mention of developmental roles is tiny sliver of a silver lining that has Exodus vice president Randy Thomas and Focus On the Family’s Glenn Stanton very excited:
“They are starting to have the integrity of reporting accurately about the condition of homosexuality,” said Randy Thomas, executive vice president of Exodus International. “We find this to be a very exciting move and hope that it indicates future movement toward recognizing that people can and do overcome homosexuality.”
Glenn Stanton, director of global family formation studies at Focus on the Family, said the brochure has an activist bent, but he sees a ray of hope.
“This doesn’t mean that we’ve completely succeeded in all the things that we’ve wanted to,” he said, “but it’s a move in the direction that we’ve wanted them to move in, and I think that’s very positive news.”
CitizenLink, Stanton and Thomas chose to focus on one lone paragraph and ignore the rest of the six-page document, including topics like the role of prejudice in LGBT’s lives and well-being, the importance of “coming out,” the nature of same-sex relationships, gay parenting — and, oh yes, this:
All major national mental health organizations have officially expressed concerns about therapies promoted to modify sexual orientation. To date, there has been no scientifically adequate research to show that therapy aimed at changing sexual orientation (sometimes called reparative or conversion therapy) is safe or effective. Furthermore, it seems likely that the promotion of change therapies reinforces stereotypes and contributes to a negative climate for lesbian, gay, and bisexual persons.
Nope. Instead, CitizenLink advises readers to go to Love Won Out to learn more. What they might learn is, in fact, more stereotypes which contribute to that negative climate the APA is talking about.
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a. mcewen
March 20th, 2008
There is a pattern to this type of behavior.
Now watch how other anti-gay industry harp on this “discovery of change by the APA”
It’s called mischaraterization of facts and repetition; hallmarks of anti-gay industry work.
Stefano
March 20th, 2008
That’s because everything else is what they consider to be of an “activist bent.”
This isn’t anything new being said by the APA for at least the last 15 to 20 years.
Emproph
March 20th, 2008
So then what exactly would “we’ve completely succeeded in all the things that we’ve wanted to” look like?
Patrick
March 20th, 2008
And let’s not forget, the APA statement is contrary to what our fundamentalist friends believe causes homosexuality. Can we expect them to now honestly state at Love Won Out, etc that their explanations for homosexuality are not supported by the actual evidence? I’m not holding my breath.
Jason D
March 20th, 2008
jim, great article, couple typos though:
first paragraph:
“The so-called “rofessional journalists†at CitizenLink are at it again.”
You probably meant “Professional” not “rofessional”
“That pamphlet repeats what we’ve been saying for quite some time: Nobody knows “causes†homosexuality. According to the APA:”
You probably meant “Nobody knows what ’causes’ homosexuality” rather than “nobody knows ’causes’ homosexuality”
Brady
March 20th, 2008
The thing is that this is not a change in stance by the APA. They have held this exact stance on the nature of homosexuality for quite a while, so I’m lost as to why FotF and Randy Thomas are happy about this.
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