Box Turtle Bulletin

Woman Sues Hospital For Keeping Her From Dying Partner

Janice Langbehn is suing Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami because hospital administrators refused to allow her access to her dying partner.

In February 2007, Ms. Langbehn, her partner Lisa Marie Pond, and three of their four children were in Florida preparing for a cruise to celebrate their eighteenth anniversary. But before the cruise could leave port, Ms. Pond suffered a massive stroke and was taken to Jackson Memorial. But hospital personnel refused to let Langbehn into Pond’s hospital room, even after a legal power of attorney was faxed to the hospital. Pond was pronounced dead of a brain aneurysm about eighteen hours after being admitted to the hospital. The only time Langbehn was allowed to see her partner was when a priest was giving her last rites.

Langbehn filed a federal lawsuit in Miami on Wednesday charging hospital employees with negligence and “intentional infliction of emotional distress.” The suit seeks damages in excess of $75,000. You can read Janice’s account of the ordeal here.

This is why marriage is so important. Hospitals like Jackson Memorial claim that because Langbehn wasn’t Ponds “immediate family,” they could ignore all evidence of their actually being one — even when presented with a legal power of attorney that anti-gay activists claim would make everything “equal” but separate.

Jackson Memorial Hospital is affiliated with the University of Miami, and touts itself as “one of America’s finest medical facilities.”

Gee… Is There A Presidential Election Coming Up?

Must be. Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS) introduced the so-called “Marriage Protection Act” to amend the U.S. Constitution to deny marriages to gays and lesbians. This is a companion measure to Rep. Paul Broun’s (R-GA) bill in the house. Neither is likely to go anywhere this time.

Sgt. Manzella Discharged Under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”

Army Sergeant Darren Manzella, who appeared on CBS’ 60 Minutes to talk about serving openly as a gay man in the Iraq war, has been discharged under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” effective June 10.

According to his interview with Lesley Stahl, he served openly during most of his time in the army with the full support of his colleagues and superiors. This isn’t surprising. According to a poll of military veterans, 73% said they would feel comfortable serving alongside a gay or lesbian service member.

Sgt. Manzella told the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN), “My sexual orientation certainly didn’t make a difference when I treated injuries and saved lives in the streets of Baghdad. It shouldn’t be a factor in allowing me to continue to serve.” Sgt. Manzella was awarded the Combat Medical Badge for serving under fire in the streets of Baghdad to provide medical care to American soldiers, Iraqi Guardsmen and civilians. He also received several other awards recognizing his courage and service.

Benkof Loses Last Gay Newspaper

UPDATE :

June 30, 2008 – David Benkof’s personal anti-gay blogsite, Gays Defend Marriage, has now removed references to his “Fabulous Observant” column and no longer refers to Benkof as a columnist for gay newspapers.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE:

Anti-gay activist David Benkof has been writing articles in mainstream newspapers posing as a columnist for the gay press. No doubt he, and the opinion editors, believe that this gives his op-eds more credibility. Until we began to look into his claims, his bio stated:

David Benkof is a columnist for several gay newspapers around the country and blogs at gaysdefendmarriage.com. Write to him by e-mail at davidbenkof@aol.com

In our report David Benkof: Behind the Mask, we exposed this deception along with his self-description on his anti-marriage website:

David Benkof’s “Fabulously Observant” column offering readers of LGBT newspapers traditionally religious and conservative perspectives on gay and lesbian issues debuted at the beginning of May. Currently, two publications subscribe – the Dallas Voice and Q-Notes (North Carolina). Other publications in Florida, Ohio, and Oklahoma have purchased at least one installment.

I’m particularly excited that in publications like Q Notes, my column will run alongside those written by people like Wayne Besen, who I’m told despise me and everything I stand for. We’re a wide and diverse community, and everyone’s voice should be heard.

As we stated in our report, when we contacted Q Notes we were told by Matt Comer, the Editor, that Benkof had been dropped due to his “recent extreme misrepresentation” and had been instructed to remove any reference to Q Notes from his site.

Now we have been told that the Dallas Voice, Benkof’s last contracted gay outlet, has discontinued his column. In an e-mail to Wayne Besen, separately confirmed to us, Editor Tammye Nash said that the Dallas Voice will not be publishing any more of Mr. Benkof’s columns. She had based her original willingness to carry Benkof on work performed when he wrote for Q Syndicate but his more recent anti-gay work had changed her mind.

In his latest anti-gay article, published by the San Francisco Chronicle, Benkof does not reference gay newspapers. His bio states:

David Benkof blogs at GaysDefendMarriage.com. To comment, e-mail DavidBenkof@aol.com.

However, those going to his site still find the statement that Benkof is “a columnist for the Dallas Voice and several other LGBT newspapers”, and that:

David Benkof’s “Fabulously Observant” column offering readers of LGBT newspapers traditionally religious and conservative perspectives on gay and lesbian issues debuted at the beginning of May. Currently, the column runs in the Dallas Voice at least once a month. Other publications in Florida, Washington state, Ohio, and Oklahoma have purchased at least one installment.

I’m particularly excited that in some publications, my column will run alongside those written by people like Wayne Besen, who I’m told despise me and everything I stand for. We’re a wide and diverse community, and everyone’s voice should be heard.

See Also:
David Benkof: Behind the Mask
Benkof’s Continuing Parade of Lies and Deception
David Benkof’s One Man Anti-Gay Campaign of Lies and Deception

Lawrence vs. Texas Revisited

Driver error led me to prematurely celebrate the five year anniversary of the Supreme Court ruling which struck down anti-sodomy laws across the nation. Dr. Gregory Herek apparently is in better control of his blogging software than I am of mine.

Dr. Herek is a prolific researcher and professor of psychology at U.C. Davis. Today he posted excerpts from a longer article he wrote to commemorate the ruling. In it, he explores the role that social science played in that ruling and what it tells us today in our current debates over same-sex marriage. He concludes:

Because current debates about law and policy concerning sexual orientation inevitably raise questions about the nature of intimate relationships, parenting, family dynamics, and the personal impact of sexual stigma — phenomena that have been extensively studied by behavioral and social scientists — psychologists and other behavioral scientists have an ongoing role to play in communicating our knowledge to policy makers, jurists, and the public.

By doing so, we will continue to fulfill our longstanding commitment to take the lead in removing the stigma historically attached to homosexuality and same-sex intimate relationships.

Like everything else Dr. Herek writes, this is well worth reading and bookmarking.

Arizona Anti-Marriage Amendment Re-Vote Likely for Friday

Yesterday’s vote by the Arizona Senate to advance an anti-marriage amendment to the voters fell short. But amendment supporters today vow to bring the measure back for another vote on Friday.

The thirty-member chamber voted 14-11 to place a proposed constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage onto the ballot. But since the Arizona constitution requires that a majority of the members elected must approve the measure, sixteen votes are needed for passage.

When supporters of the ban realized that they didn’t have enough votes — Sen. Karen Johnson (R-Mesa) had gone on vacation — Sen. Linda Gray (R-Phoenix) switched her vote in a procedural move to allow her to bring the measure back again for another vote. Another vote will likely be called on Friday when Johnson is expected to interrupt her vacation to support the measure.

Which means that come Friday, we may see an anti-marriage amendment placed on the ballot. Arizona residents are encouraged to contact their Senator and voice their opinions. Equality Arizona makes this easy. Just enter your zip code, and their web page will automatically provide you with contact information and talking points. It takes all of three minutes.

Homophobic Math

Remember Justin Nichols, the Plano, Texas Teen Court officer who was almost fired by the Collin County Commissioners when they learned that he’s gay? Well, they apparently decided that they didn’t want to look like a bunch of backwoods hicks and decided not to fire him publicly. But they did negotiate an undisclosed settlement to try to get him to leave quietly. Part of the terms of the settlement was that Nichols couldn’t discuss the settlement.

But the incompetents running Collin County forgot to include something very important in their settlement. They omitted a standard statement which would have prevented Nichols’ lawyer or anyone else connected with the case from disclosing the terms of the agreement. And they got the amount of the settlement wrong. Instead of paying Nichols $26,500 to get his gay butt out of the courthouse like they had all agreed to, the settlement calls for $26,500,000. That’s $26.5 million!

I’m guessing there must be a study somewhere correlating homophobia with lower IQs.

McCain Meets With Log Cabin

Gay Patriot has the scoop:

GayPatriot has exclusively learned that presumptive Republican Presidential nominee Senator John McCain held a personal meeting with the head of the national gay Republicans organization, the Log Cabin Republicans. Log Cabin President Patrick Sammon confirmed his meeting with Senator McCain earlier today.

It is not inconsequential that the presumptive nominee for the Republican Party has met with a leader in the gay community. It suggests that McCain recognizes our community to be a constituency and that we have specific concerns and issues upon which we may be able to find common cause. It also suggests that he is unlikely to be quick to engage in politics based on accusations of “homosexual agenda”.

I hope that Log Cabin is able to get the Senator to clarify his position on certain areas of policy that seem to be nebulous or contradictory. I also hope that the Senator will craft a campaign that actively competes for the votes of gay and lesbian citizens. Such a direction would not only be effective in moving our country closer to equality under law for the members of our community but it would also go far towards healing the rift in the nation caused by culture war and past devisive campaigns.

BREAKING: Arizona Senate Rejects Anti-Marriage Amendment

This just in:

The Arizona Senate has rejected a proposal that would have asked voters to amend the state constitution to prohibit same-sex marriage. The 14-11 vote fell two votes shy of what was required to send the proposal to the November ballot. Senators later voted to reconsider the measure at another unspecified date.

The Arizona legislature is just about to end its legislative session. And since this proposal has been rejected, I don’t know what’s meant by the line saying that they voted to reconsider the measure “at another unspecified date.” When I know, you’ll know. But for now, it looks like it might be dead for 2008.

Update: What that last line means is that they can still bring the amendment up for a vote at any time between now and the official end (“sine die”) of the session. In a just-released statement, Equality Arizona characterized the move as a “desparete maneuver” by Senate Republicans to force a vote. Sixteen votes (a simple majority of the Senate) was needed to pass the resolution. Five Senators did note vote.

Today In History: The Rainbow Flag

Today is the thirtieth anniversary of the debut of the Rainbow Gay Pride flag. The original flag, hand-dyed by Gilbert Baker, first flew in the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day parade on June 25, 1978. The original 1978 flag consisted of eight stripes, with each stripe assigned a specific meaning. From top to bottom, the stripes were:

• hot pink: sexuality
• red: life
• orange: healing
• yellow: sunlight
• green: nature
• turquoise: magic
• blue: serenity
• violet: spirit

After Harvey Milk’s assassination on November 27, 1978, demand for the flag went up sharply. But since hot pink fabric wasn’t available as a stock color, the top stripe was removed and the flag became a seven stripe flag. Then, the story goes, organizers planned to hang rainbow flags vertically from lamp posts for San Francisco’s 1979 pride celebration and they noticed that the lamp post would obscure the middle stripe. So the turquoise stripe was dropped and the rainbow flag has remained a six-stripe flag ever since.

The rainbow flag is now a world-wide symbol for LGBT communities everywhere, and it has come to mean many things to many different people. For some, it’s a gesture of visibility, a way of saying we’re here. For others, its a reminder of all that we’ve gone through as a community. And some in the LGBT community consider it a silly expression of separatism and self-segregation from society. Last October, Gilbert Baker penned an essay to explain what the flag meant to him. He describes growing up gay in Middle America and being harassed while serving in Viet Nam. He was sent stateside to work as a nurse in San Francisco, where he met Harvey Milk:

Stationed in San Francisco as a nurse, I cared for the wounded. I also met my closet [sic] friend and mentor, Harvey Milk. Harvey had an aggressive charm that attracted the wicked and the wise. His charisma and fearlessness are at the heart of all I hold dear.

Harvey was a pioneer, a trailblazer, and with the community by his side, he became a San Francisco Supervisor. One day he said to me that we needed a logo, a symbol. We needed a positive image that could unite us. I sewed my own dresses, so why not a flag? At Harvey’s behest, I went about creating our Rainbow Flag. I had never felt so empowered, so free.

My liberation came at a painful cost. In the ultimate act of anti-gay violence, Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone were assassinated. The bullets were meant for Harvey, to silence him, and, by extension, every one of us. Uniting a community cost him his life.

I remember when I was still coming out how important it was for me to see it and know that it marked a place of safety and refuge. And even now, when I go to a strange town and I see a small sticker on a doorway or a car’s bumper, I know that I’m among friends.

Robert Gagnon’s Unorthodox Approach to Doctrine

Robert Gagnon is an anti-gay hero. He is the leading theologian in the camp of those who believe that homosexuality is the worst of all possible sins. Look in the footnotes of any homophobic rant and you’ll find that their anti-gay interpretation of Scripture was likely provided by Dr. Gagnon.

Today the Christian Post reports that Gagnon continues on his crusade.

The Presbyterian Church (USA) places importance on the Heidelberg Catechism, a series of questions and answers used for teaching Reformed doctrine. Approved in 1563, it’s been translated a number of times and into many languages. The PC(USA) uses the Miller-Osterhaven translation from 1962 in its Book of Confessions.

However the 1962 translation included language that was not present in the original version. Specifically, it condemned “homosexual perversion”, a concept that was absent from the Heidelberg Catechism in 1563. Thirty-two members from the denomination’s ten seminaries signed a petition calling for a better translation.

Robert Gagnon disagrees.

In support of the current version, Dr. Robert A. J. Gagnon of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary argues that the original German text alludes to the Scripture passage 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 which, in the New English Bible translation, lists “homosexual perversion.”

“The spirit of the text of the Catechism is clear enough. It is the exact opposite of the attempt now being made to make the Confessions open to homosexual practice,” Gagnon said in a written argument last week. “The attempt at retranslation is not about history and honesty but ideology and a homosexualist agenda.”

I agree that this debate is about ideology. But I would suggest that it is his own that causes Gagnon to insist that the Catechism be translated to state the words that should be on the page rather than the ones that are there.

This is hardly the first time that Gagnon has decided that homophobia trumps written witness.

Most Christians will be familiar with the story of the Roman Centurian whose servant was healed by Jesus. This story is found in Matthew 8:5-13 and Luke 7:1-10 and goes like this:

A Roman Centurian came to Jesus about his servant who was paralyzed and suffering. Jesus offered to go heal him.

Jesus commented on how this Roman, a Gentile, had more faith than was found in all of Israel.

Traditionally, this story has been understood to be the historical reporting of a miracle of Christ and one which demonstrated God’s intent to spread the Gospel to Gentiles. Few questioned the authenticity of the story or read much else into it.

But then some scholars began to look into the peculiar usage of language in the story and came to believe that considering the language and the culture in which it was written, it made most sense that the servant who was healed would have been better translated as “same-sex love slave” or what we might today refer to as a “boy-toy”.

Gagnon is, characteristically, dismissive. Insulting, one might say. But he takes a response that, I think, is playing with fire.

In essence he says that the authors of the books of Matthew and Luke made a mistake and told the story incorrectly. God’s divine inspiration got it wrong.

He argues that really the Roman was not Roman but a Jew, that the servant was not a servant but a son, and that the part about Jesus finding faith in Gentiles was just made up and not something Christ had ever said.

I think that Gagnon is taking steps that ultimately will not prove to be beneficial to those who seek to use him as an anti-gay source. His desire to read what isn’t there and to ignore what is present will not sit well with those who insist on a literalist interpretation of Scripture.

And those who are looking for a less word-for-word approach to doctrine are already capable of finding within the message of Christ an extravagant welcome that includes gay and lesbian Christians.

See also:
Gagnon Rants On And On
My Very Favorite Gagnonism
Robert Gagnon and the Grand Box Turtle Whirl of Immorality
Gagnon Revisited
Clarifying Robert Gagnon’s Tortured Logic
Gagnon Employs Tortured Logic
Robert Gagnon’s Unorthodox Approach to Doctrine

California LGBT Anti-Discrimination Opponents Give Up

California’s “Save Our Kids” Campaign have announced that they have given up on their efforts to overturn California’s Senate Bill 777. Signed into law by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger last October, SB-777 provides an array of anti-discrimination and anti-bullying protections in California’s schools.

An earlier attempt by opponents to force a referendum fell short, which led them to start a petition drive to put an initiative on the ballot. Now that this effort has failed, the Save Our Kids Campaign has announced that they will instead concentrate on passing a proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage.

This follows similar failures in attempt to roll back anti-discrimination measures in Maine and Oregon.

“Drop Kicking” Phelan Invited Back to Exodus

David Roberts at Ex-Gay Watch is reporting that James Phelan, the ex-gay therapist who “one-two drop kicked the hell out of” a fellow marathon runner, is back in Exodus’ good graces.

Last October, Phelan bragged on his blog about a physical altercation he had with someone who objected to him yelling at a group holding rainbow banners at a public marathon. That embarrassing post led to Exodus suspending Phelan from their referral network.

But about the same time that Exodus was trying to publicly paint a kinder, gentler picture of themselves, they very quietly invited Phelan back. Phelan explained to Roberts how that happened:

As a result, later on, I did talk with them and agreed that I had said some mean things and apologized. At the same time, they (Randy, Alan, and Melissa Ingram- board chief) felt my blog was not in line with Exodus values. As a result, they asked me to wait some time before they would reinstate me to the member network.

Phelan was invited back onto Exodus’ referral network in March. He has not yet taken them up on the offer.

But the part I find the most patently offensive is where he says he apologized. To whom and what for? I doubt the marathon runner got one. I don’t think Phelan apologized to the people under the rainbow banner. Nor am I aware that he has apologized to anyone offended by his boastful post, or the several self-justifying posts that followed. In fact, I can’t see where he apologized to anyone that mattered.

Well, except for Exodus. They were embarrassed and so he apologized. I guess that fixes everything, doesn’t it?

Update: James Phelan offered this apology in the comments:

My verbal actions at the time of the event were not right and the physical confrontation equally bull-headed. I have learned from this mistake and will not do it again. I do apologize to anyone offended by my boastful post, and the several self-justifying posts that followed. You are right, as was David Roberts of XGW, in asserting that the way I handled the situation was wrong.

Thank you, James.

Pew Report – Religion and Homosexuality

The Pew Forum on Religion and Public life has released its latest survey results. In addition to questions about church attendance, political affiliation, belief in God, and other religious and social questions, they asked the following:

Tell me whether the FIRST statement or the SECOND statement comes closer to your own views, even if neither is exactly right.

1 – Homosexuality is a way of life that should be accepted by society
2 – Homosexuality is a way of life that should be discouraged by society

Of their respondents, 50% said accept and 40% said discourage. Another 5% said that they agree with neither or with both and 5% didn’t know or refused to answer.

Looking at religious breakdown, the following all had a majority who responded with the first statement: Mainline Churches, Catholics, Other Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Other Faiths and the Unaffiliated. Additionally, while the following did not have more than 50%, they had more accept responses than discourage responses: Orthodox, Hindus.

Those who had a firm majority responding with the second statement were: Evangelical Churches, Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Muslims. Those with a plurality of discourage responses were: Historically Black Churches.

This should give us guidance in our upcoming discussions about equalities and law, especially the marriage discussions in California and Florida. In our appeal we need not abandon or ignore religion.

It seems clear that messages can be crafted to Jews and to Mainline Christians that can appeal to the doctrines and values surrounding social justice.

Further this tells us that while the Catholic hierarchy may be resistant to marriage equality, lay Catholics are twice as likely to be receptive to our message as not. And while historically Black Churches may loudly condemn gay people, parishioners are only slightly more likely to be hostile than not. These are two areas in which an appeal to faith may yield a positive result.

And an outreach to voices in the Orthodox (Christian) community may find an untapped source of support.

California has significantly more Catholics and Unaffiliated persons than the national average and fewer Evangelical, Mainline, and Historically Black Churches. Florida closely mirrors the nation with slight variations.

One encouragement can be found in that California’s religious demographics are similar to those in Arizona (the only state to defeat a gay marriage amendment) only with 6% more Catholics and 5% fewer Evangelicals.

Anti-Gay Anglicans Refuse to Condemn Violence

In a rather disturbing report, Ekklesia tells us about Anglicans at the breakaway conference in Jerusalem, GAFCON, electing to condemn gay persons and not those engaged in inhumanities towards them.

When given the example of a lesbian women from Uganda who had applied for asylum in the UK after being jailed, raped in the police station, and marched for two miles naked through the streets of Uganda, Archbishop Akinola said: “That’s one example. The laws in your countries say that homosexual acts, actions are punishable by various rules. I don’t need to argue.”

“If the practice (homosexuality) is now found to be in our society” he continued, “it is of service to be against it. Alright, and to that extent what my understanding is, is that those that are responsible for law and order will want to prevent wholesale importation of foreign practices and traditions, that are not consistent with native standards, native way of life.”