New Hampsure results silence NOM's Maggie Gallagher
Mormon/Boy Scout sexual abuse problem
"Not Equal" Flag Debuted in New York DADT Protest
"Not Guilty, Not Ashamed, and Not Finished"
Anti-gay general's comments infuriate the Dutch
ENDA Sit-ins Result in Arrests in DC and San Francisco
Anti-Gay Group Sells Snakeoil
Schumer Argues for LGBT Incusion in Immigration Reform
Featured Reports
Slouching Towards Kampala: Uganda’s Deadly Embrace of Hate
When we first reported on three American anti-gay activists traveling to Kampala for a three-day conference, we had no idea that it would be the first report of a long string of events leading to a proposal to institute the death penalty for LGBT people. But that is exactly what happened. In this report, we review our collection of more than two hundred posts to tell the story of one nation’s embrace of hatred toward gay people. This report will be updated continuously as events continue to unfold. Check here for the latest updates.
David Benkof: Behind the Mask
At first glance, David Benkof appears to be a young gay man who believes that same-sex marriage will damage the institution of marriage, that there are better options for gay couples than marriage, that the community should join him in prioritizing other more pressing issues, and that the marriage discussion is harming the efforts of gay couples in red states to get recognition for their unions. He also claims that he’s a gay columnist, that he speaks for an influential collection of gay thinkers, and that he is part of the gay and lesbian community and that he shares our goals and dreams. But none of that is true.
“Repeat After Me”: The Reparative Therapy Echo Chamber
The April 2008 edition of the pay-to-publish vanity journal Psychological Reports featured a new report from NARTH. Written by NARTH president A. Dean Byrd, past president Joseph Nicolosi, and Richard W. Potts, the report carries the unwieldy but self-descriptive title, “Clients perceptions of how reorientation therapy and self-help can promote changes in sexual orientation.” While the title describes what the authors meant to show — how clients describe the benefits of reparative therapy — the report itself actually illustrates something very different: the ex-gay movement’s remarkable ability to instill an almost robot-like parroting of ex-gay rhetoric among their clients.
Testing the Premise: Is MRSA The New Gay Plague?
The Toronto Star said that a new study “discover[ed] a new strain” of a super-bug “hitting gay men.” Headlines in Britain screamed, “Flesh-eating bug strikes San Francisco’s gay community,” and anti-gay extremists across America spread the alarm that gays were introducing another plague into “the general population.” But there was a small problem with all of this: None of it is true!
Paul Cameron’s World
In 2005, the Southern Poverty Law Center wrote that “[Paul] Cameron’s ‘science’ echoes Nazi Germany.” What the SPLC didn”t know was Cameron doesn’t just “echo” Nazi Germany. He quoted extensively from one of the Final Solution’s architects. This puts his fascination with quarantines, mandatory tattoos, and extermination being a “plausible idea” in a whole new and deeply disturbing light.
From the Inside: Focus on the Family’s “Love Won Out”
On February 10, I attended an all-day “Love Won Out” ex-gay conference in Phoenix, put on by Focus on the Family and Exodus International. In this series of reports, I talk about what I learned there: the people who go to these conferences, the things that they hear, and what this all means for them, their families and for the rest of us.
Prologue: Why I Went To “Love Won Out”
Part 1: What’s Love Got To Do With It?
Part 2: Parents Struggle With “No Exceptions”
Part 3: A Whole New Dialect
Part 4: It Depends On How The Meaning of the Word "Change" Changes
Part 5: A Candid Explanation For "Change"
The Heterosexual Agenda: Exposing The Myths
At last, the truth can now be told.
Using the same research methods employed by most anti-gay political pressure groups, we examine the statistics and the case studies that dispel many of the myths about heterosexuality. Download your copy today!
And don't miss our companion report, How To Write An Anti-Gay Tract In Fifteen Easy Steps.
Testing The Premise: Are Gays A Threat To Our Children?
Anti-gay activists often charge that gay men and women pose a threat to children. In this report, we explore the supposed connection between homosexuality and child sexual abuse, the conclusions reached by the most knowledgeable professionals in the field, and how anti-gay activists continue to ignore their findings. This has tremendous consequences, not just for gay men and women, but more importantly for the safety of all our children.
Straight From The Source: What the “Dutch Study” Really Says About Gay Couples
Anti-gay activists often cite the “Dutch Study” to claim that gay unions last only about 1½ years and that the these men have an average of eight additional partners per year outside of their steady relationship. In this report, we will take you step by step into the study to see whether the claims are true.
The FRC’s Briefs Are Showing
Tony Perkins’ Family Research Council submitted an Amicus Brief to the Maryland Court of Appeals as that court prepared to consider the issue of gay marriage. We examine just one small section of that brief to reveal the junk science and fraudulent claims of the Family “Research” Council.
Review: The Gay Report
When Karla Jay and Allan Young published The Gay Report in 1979, it quickly a favorite source of statistics for many anti-gay extremists. But before you accepts these statistic at face value, you should examine the inner workings of this survey very carefully. What you learn might surprise you.
Daniel Fetty Doesn’t Count
The FBI’s annual Hate Crime Statistics aren’t as complete as they ought to be, and their report for 2004 was no exception. In fact, their most recent report has quite a few glaring holes. Holes big enough for Daniel Fetty to fall through.
cooner
May 27th, 2008 | LINK
Oy, this is very disturbing. I’ve heard a lot of people opposed to hate-crimes legislation argue that “two people should be charged exactly the same if they commit the same crime; their motivation shouldn’t be brought into it; a crime is a crime.”
I find this logic ridiculous, first of all, because we already consider the motive in many cases. Murder, for example, has many different charges and punishments (first degree, second degree, manslaughter, etc.) specifically taking motive and intent into consideration.
But another issue with hate crimes is dealing with the motivation to show hate and cause fear that amplifies a lesser crime into something much bigger. Imagine if vandals had written “Go Predators!” across this man’s house nine times. He’d be spending a lot of money on cleanup and he’d be grousing about ‘those damn kids,’ but he wouldn’t be living in fear of his life, too afraid to open a window or leave the yard. That’s what hate crime legislation is about.
AlexM
May 27th, 2008 | LINK
The biggest argument for hate-crime legislation (in my opinion) is this one quote from ACLU above:
There are many such crimes, both non-violent and violent, that were/are under-investigated, and the perpetrators end up getting away with it. If it was a hate-crime because of religion or race, the FBI wouldn’t have their hands tied.
Larry
May 27th, 2008 | LINK
It’s time to sue the county, so as this gets taken seriously before someone gets killed. And, if either Neal or his parter is hurt or dies as a result of this, their respective families should OWN Warren County, Tennessee.
L. Junius Brutus
May 27th, 2008 | LINK
Well, I think this shows us why the radical right keeps opposing hate crimes legislation. They want us to live in fear. It takes a mental toll, you know. And when that happens, they can point to that person and say: look, he’s obviously crazy because he’s gay. Why give that up just to satisfy a few widely ignored Biblical demands to love your neighbor?
Doodle
October 17th, 2008 | LINK
Warren County Eh? I’m not surprised in the least. I live in Coffee County. In this area of Tennessee it is 100% “Good Old Boy” law enforcement. My simplest advice to this poor man is move before it gets worse. I would put that house up for sale and get the hell out of there! Those are just warning shots for the final atom bomb because you will get no law enforcement assistance.
I’m sure the Warren County police department is just laughing at this and probably make fun of the gentleman behind his back.
It is a very uneducated, backwoods and racist area and if a gay man comes up missing or dead? Well…that’s just one less fag to have to worry about.
I’m sorry. I know that sounds cruel and that I may seem heartless but those of us that live in the mountainous regions of this area know good and well that consequences can arrise if we live too freely or make our relationships known to the public. Live behind those closed blinds kiddies!
You can’t sue the county. Nobody will listen to you and the “good old boys” will make sure you stop the suit. The KKK is still around. You just don’t mess with these people. That’s why most gay men leave the area for larger cities. Fortunately, the area I live in is not bad and I’ve never had any altercations.
I have met STRICT resistence in health care though. Tennessee does NOT recognize domestic partners and if you are not your partner’s power of attorney, you WILL be told you have no rights and no reason to be there. I would highly recommend that any same sex partners immediately obtain a durable power of attorney for medical care for both parterns to safe guard yourself.
You may not think you really need that but trust me. Should the emergency arrise and your partner is non-responsive and can’t make decisions? Should you need to ask questions? You will get the door slammed in your face and some off color remarks made. And this is not in the past, this was two days ago which was a real chin dropper to me as I thought this town was above that.
There is still phobia. Immediately upon finding out my partner was gay, an HIV test was ordered WITHOUT his consent. So there is still this hatred bubbling under the smiley surface in Tennessee. So like my Mama says, “Don’t get TOO comfortable with yourselves!”
If these guys are cutting power lines and phone lines – WATCH OUT! It may be a simple prank for now but it can escalate without warning. It’s legal to carry a gun in Tennessee. He needs to get one!
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