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 lobbyDecember 17th, 2008
The Human Rights Campaign sent this open letter to President-Elect Barack Obama:
Rev. Warren cannot name a single theological issue that he and vehemently, anti-gay theologian James Dobson disagree on. Rev. Warren is not a moderate pastor who is trying to bring all sides together. Instead, Rev. Warren has often played the role of general in the cultural war waged against LGBT Americans, many of whom also share a strong tradition of religion and faith.
We have been moved by your calls to religious leaders to own up to the homophobia and racism that has stood in the way of combating HIV and AIDS in this country. And that you have publicly called on religious leaders to open their hearts to their LGBT family members, neighbors and friends.
But in this case, we feel a deep level of disrespect when one of architects and promoters of an anti-gay agenda is given the prominence and the pulpit of your historic nomination. Only when Rev. Warren and others support basic legislative protections for LGBT Americans can we believe their claim that they are not four-square against our rights and dignity. In that light, we urge you to reconsider this announcement.
People for the American Way also denounced the selection:
…[T]he sad truth is that this decision further elevates someone who has in recent weeks actively promoted legalized discrimination and denigrated the lives and relationships of millions of Americans.
Rick Warren gets plenty of attention through his books and media appearances. He doesn’t need or deserve this position of honor. There is no shortage of religious leaders who reflect the values on which President-elect Obama campaigned and who are working to advance the common good.
Latest Posts
Featured Reports
In this original BTB Investigation, we unveil the tragic story of Kirk Murphy, a four-year-old boy who was treated for “cross-gender disturbance” in 1970 by a young grad student by the name of George Rekers. This story is a stark reminder that there are severe and damaging consequences when therapists try to ensure that boys will be boys.
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.
“Google” is a trademark of Google Inc.
© Box Turtle Bulletin. All Rights Reserved.
Posts 
Posts via daily email:
jeff
December 17th, 2008
I doubt the letter will do anything. Nobody like us gays.
Patrick ONeill
December 17th, 2008
Thanks for your activism on this – I would like to see it stopped.
I would much prefer Rev. Wright to speak, but we wouldn’t want to offend the bigots.
Bob King
December 17th, 2008
Sure we do, Jeff. Well, except for that beard stubble thing.
Point is, gay ain’t the only sort of queer, and that’s a good thing; it swells the ranks.
In fact, if you add up all the various sorts of people that these people think of as being “too queer” – and add in those of us that they haven’t realized they should be paranoid about yet, I think we could have them slightly outnumbered.
lurker
December 18th, 2008
gaysocialites.com posted a good CNN debate on this controversy . . . it rebuts the argument the Obama team is making that “we disagree on policy issues sometimes, but we need to include everyone at the inaguration.”
Two of the speakers in the debate counter-argue that this controversy is NOT about policy disagreements, it’s about Obama singularly honoring a man who says that our relationships are equivelant to beastiality and pedophilia.
at http://gaysocialites.com/2008/12/rick_warren_becomes_topic_of_d.html
Benjamin
December 18th, 2008
Hey all there is a light at the end of the tunnel. The final word (the closing prayer) will be given by Pastor Lowry who is deeply supportive of same sex marriage and who represents our cause and understands us.
Keep this in mind.
Pat
December 18th, 2008
Hey all there is a light at the end of the tunnel. The final word (the closing prayer) will be given by Pastor Lowry who is deeply supportive of same sex marriage and who represents our cause and understands us.
Keep this in mind.
That’s a start, Benjamin. But someone like Warren has no business at all delivering the inaugural invocation. It doesn’t erase the poor judgment by Obama to choose this individual.
Alan
December 18th, 2008
I don’t think we should be too surprised by this.
When asked about repealing DADT a few months back, Obama said he’d have to consult with people and study the matter.
Study what? Large majorities of the public support repealing DADT, as do majorities of active duty personnel and even Republicans. Seems pretty obvious that repealing DADT would be pretty popular.
But Mr Charisma wants to take his time.
Charles Lanigan
December 18th, 2008
What we need is a gay president!
Alan Richard
December 19th, 2008
We do need a gay president, but it took a long time and a lot of sacrifice through multiple generations to get an African-American president, and it will take a lot of time to get a gay president too. For now, what we really need is more openly gay candidates for office at every level. Harvey Milk had the right idea: start with where you live and move out from there. Any volunteers?
Leave A Comment