Box Turtle Bulletin
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 lobbyOctober 23rd, 2008
The Jewish Weekly News of Northern California strongly opposes religion-based marriage discrimination
If Prop. 8 passes, what a terrible precedent to set, especially in a state that so often leads the country into the future.
As Jews, we cannot help being sensitive to this encroachment on liberties. It’s the slipperiest of slopes, far worse than any perceived moral breakdown due to same-sex marriage.
Don’t let it happen here.
Let us as a community speak loudly and clearly. Please vote “No” on Proposition 8.
This is a community very familiar with what happens when religious values are given higher priority than civil rights.
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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 500 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.
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.
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"
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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Emily K
October 23rd, 2008
Absolutely right. As a religious minority, we KNOW what it’s like to have our liberties encroached. Maybe for some Jews banning SSM for religious reasons would align. But after that, things like Christian prayer in school and reproductive rights, such as access to birth control, would greatly diverge from even the most orthodox Jews.
cd
October 23rd, 2008
Hey Tim: well-known short term denizen of this site has posted an interesting and selfrevealing bit of information in the following thread. Check out reply #253. :-) (If I mention his name, he’ll get a Google alert to here.)
http://www.aish.com/spirituality/odysseys/The_Straight_Path_Home.asp
Timothy Kincaid
October 23rd, 2008
cd,
Interesting. Well I’m glad to see that he’s doing well. I wish him happiness and hope that he is now embracing honesty and truthfulness in his life and his writing.
Emily K
October 24th, 2008
I don’t think that person is doing really anything different than before. I think that his attitudes are the same – except maybe now he’s no longer touting bisexuality. He’s taking the “side B” path and saying “gay+celibate for religion”. But it IS refreshing to see one of “their own” refute their rhetoric.
Ben in Oakland
October 24th, 2008
I thought the guy writing the article was You-Know-Who, or Voldemort (apologies to Harry Potter) but it turns out that You Know Who actually prefers to speak a truth instead of an innuendo.
Ben in Oakland
October 25th, 2008
I’ve been a busy boy the past few days. The Jewish Bulletin is going to publish my letter reminding jewish people about the nature of prejudice.
It might cost me some business– I do a lot of bar mitzvahs. But i met a prop. 8 supporter yesterday– a fairly stupid boy full of talking points but no sense. He inspired me to say Screw it!
Reuven
October 27th, 2008
Much as people are trying to keep this from being a religious battle, that’s exactly what it has become.
From Today’s New York Times:
“This vote on whether we stop the gay-marriage juggernaut in California is Armageddon,” said Charles W. Colson, the founder of Prison Fellowship Ministries and an eminent evangelical voice, speaking to pastors in a video promoting Proposition 8. “We lose this, we are going to lose in a lot of other ways, including freedom of religion.”
Do we really believe that marriage equality is a Jewish issue? Are we sincere? If so, then we need to address what’s going on: An organized effort from religious organizations to outlaw a Jewish (as well as many progressive Church’s) practice. It’s probably fair to say that but for the actions of progressive Clergy, same-sex marriage wouldn’t be where it is today.
After they succeed with this, what’s next? Outlawing circumcision? Outlawing Kosher slaughter? Both these things are already on the radar, admittedly far away. (And, right now, not backed primarily by religious groups.)
Don’t we need a way to address the true challenge here: some religious groups seeking to outlaw the actions of other religious groups, solely on religious principles?
The official “YES ON 8” page says this: (http://www.protectmarriage.com/testimonials)
“We are at one of those moments. This is THE major change point of the last few decades. While the abortion issue is a foundational issue, the marriage definition issue is a survival issue. No single social issue has threatened to forever muzzle Bible believing Christians like this contest.
For us not to be able to point out the religious threat can potentially cause serious problems for Judaism in the future.
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