Iowans couldn't care less about gay marriage
A Personal Note
Military Times poll shows sharp decline in support for DADT
Today's Question
Our condolences to the Burke family
"Family" Leader Reportedly Confirms Opposition to Uganda's Anti-Gay BIll
Ollie North: Repeal DADT and What's Next? NAMBLA and Same-Sex Marriage
Michigan Christians sue because the Matthew Shepherd Act restricts their rights. They must want to violently attack gay people
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.
News, analysis and fact-checking of anti-gay rhetoric
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Emily K
June 5th, 2008 | LINK
My dad has ALWAYS – WITHOUT QUESTION – loved me for who I was (a gay individual). He’s not just super, he’s superb. I think I might submit a story.
David Malcolm
June 5th, 2008 | LINK
Uhh how many dads have LGBT sons? I mean GBT perhaps, but L? I don’t know many Lesbian men… if you wanna use an inclusive term why not just use Queer? It’s clean, it’s quick, it’s readily understood, and you don’t have the problem of figuring if Lesbians or Gays should get top billing.
Oh and… hmm that’s weird we should all get mad at TiVo for partnering with Focus on the Family… or… well actually maybe we should let them do that, since you know we get mad at Focus on the Family when they bitch about Walmart supporting a gay youth centre.
Timothy Kincaid
June 5th, 2008 | LINK
Our readers are bright people and I think most of them can recognize that “LGBT sons and daughters” is not meant to be read as “lesbian sons”.
Emily K
June 5th, 2008 | LINK
David, while “queer” is the term of choice for myself, many people in the gay community still take offense to it. I don’t blame them. Not all black people like being called the “N” word by their own kind and not all Jews (when talking to their own) taking a liking to the “K” word or “heeb.” Wounds are still fresh for many. I also personally like LGBTQ – adding the “Q” for questioning or queer.
Although, I suppose Jim just could’ve said “children…” But I didn’t give the article a second thought.
Jim Burroway
June 5th, 2008 | LINK
Picky, picky, picky. Okay, I could have said kids, but then many of those kids are adults…
I generally don’t like to use the word queer because I know that is a sensitive issue among some in the community, although I do admit that it’s nice to have a shorthand term that’s not an acronym.
Robguy
June 5th, 2008 | LINK
I’d love to write an entry but my father became a minister in reaction to my coming out (and not the nice kind).
… actually that would probably be a bonus for the Focus people.
Johno
June 5th, 2008 | LINK
David, your assertion that we should leave them alone because it’s ‘tit for tat’ implies the two positions are equally valid, as opposed to theirs being propaganda-based and motivated by hatred and bigotry towards a minority group of American citizens. (And possibly even in violation of Tivo’s own policy.) It also implies that you buy into the lie that we are censoring religious speech with our selfish desire for equal rights.
Gross.
Corporations send messages of endorsement with these kind of collusions, looking for loyalty-buyers. It’s practically their whole purpose.
Jason D
June 6th, 2008 | LINK
Well, I can’t post a story about my Dad, the deadline is today and their site doesn’t support Windows Vista.
I laughed to myself last night when I discovered that. They’re so conservative, they can’t even handle a new OS!
I know, I know, BTB isn’t a hotbed of liberals, it just struck me as funny. Please don’t kill me for making a lighthearted observation. If it helps, I make the same sorts of observations about liberals like myself.
I wonder how many MORE years of gay civil rights and marriage and yet no sky falling before they wake up and get on with their lives?
B. John
June 6th, 2008 | LINK
I called Tivo’s corporate headquarters in California at (408) 519-9100. I was directed to very nice person in the Public Relations Department named Alyson.
I explained to Alyson that I was in the technology business, love gadgets, purchase and play with many, and had always said that I believed my Tivo was the smartest gadget in my house. I further told her I’d frequently recommended it to friends, and was considering getting my mother one.
I told her I was disturbed to read they had partnered with Focus on The Family for a promotion, and that this was of grave concern to me. I asked if they had vetted the organization at all. Alyson said they partnered with them because of their interest in Tivo’s Kid Zone, and they really tried to be neutral on political issues.
I explained that I understood that, and respected their right to do business with any organization. I also explained that wasn’t so naive as to believe I could not do business with every company that did business with organizations with whom I had a political difference. I explained to Alyson though, that Mr. Dobson’s vitriolic rhetoric went beyond merely extreme political speech, but quite literally crossed the line to hate speech.
And that as a Christian who, as an adult Sunday school class teacher and a person who’s studied both the Old and New Testaments, I was further offended that his hate speech came cloaked under the banner of Christianity.
I told her it was my hope that the person who had approved the promotion had just not done an adequate job of vetting Mr. Dobson or his organization, and that I hoped they would announce that they would no longer partner with Focus on the Family or any of its affiliated organizations, otherwise I would have to let my Tivo subscription expire and switch to a cable company provided DVR. I explained I would be sad about that, but felt that, given the over-the-top positions of absolutely hatred and bigotry of this organization, I could not, in good faith continue to support Tivo if they continue to support FOTF.
As I said, I think she was a bit taken aback, and if they heard a similar message from others (calm, complimentary, but logical and straightforward about just how extreme FOFT and Mr. Dobson are), they might just reconsider any further promotions with them.
Jason D
June 7th, 2008 | LINK
I have had people try to say “Oh, well, if you stopped shopping or using something just because the maker/seller/service provider works with anti-gays, you wouldn’t be able to do anything”.
To me, that’s a cop-out, and a very machiavellian one at that. It suggests the speaker has no real moral principles if shiny baubles and luxury can win them away from their principles and beliefs.
I LOVE the bolthouse farms protein drinks, but as soon as I found out that they donated money to that awful CA Amendment, I stopped buying their products. I’ve never bought or worn anything made by A&F because of their blatant racism. I convinced my Office Coordinator at work to stop buying Gloria Jean’s Coffee after I found out about their weird ex-gay-exorcism connection (I think I learned that at BTB no less!) I’ve even looked at the HRC corporate equality index to confirm that my favorite companies are doing the right thing. Corporate America is actually leading the way, so perhaps 5-10 years ago it would’ve been hard to make sure your money isn’t going to fight your own civil rights, but things are changing.
Why should I support someone who’s made a point of attacking me and my family? Because it’s easier than the alternative?
proudtobedad
June 9th, 2008 | LINK
If you head over to Good As You, you’ll see that FOF isn’t even posting the submissions from kids about their gay dads!! The moderator is pulling any gay related posts…
proudtobedad
June 9th, 2008 | LINK
Add: Actually, the contest is ongoing–they are now in week two, and to enter you have to go to that part of the forum to submit.
Even though they’re not posting, we should still flood their inbox! Keep those cards and letters coming!!!
Mombian » Blog Archive » Super Dads Galore
June 11th, 2008 | LINK
[...] the Family Equality Council and Box Turtle Bulletin are asking people to submit entries about super LGBT dads to the FOF contest and then to send them [...]
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