The Daily Agenda for Thursday, May 23
It's Not the Principle, It's the Prejudice
Congratulations Mitch!
Gay Couples Excluded from Immigration Bill Markup
How To Spot A Swivel-Eyed Loon
The Daily Agenda for Wednesday, May 22
House of Commons officially passes marriage equality
British Commons Approves Marriage Equality Bill
Featured Reports
What Are Little Boys Made Of?
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.
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 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.
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
Posts 
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henry
March 20th, 2009 | LINK
Thanks for the update on this issue.
It is good that the spotlight is shining on the Mormon (LDS) Church to ensure that they fully complied with all of the applicable campaign finance and election laws in California.
jeff
March 20th, 2009 | LINK
It is unclear if the LDS Church considered the short- and long-term impacts of its involvement in the passage of Proposition 8 in California.
I have collected a number of articles from a range of publications that analyzes the impacts of this involvement. It is at http://www.prop8-lds.4t.com.
John
March 20th, 2009 | LINK
All of this dishonesty and trying to hide their involvement is really worrying from a democratic point of view. It is important to know who is behind ballot measures and candidates. The mormons have gone out of their way with propaganda to portray themselves and anything but a threat to other Americans. These underhanded election tactics are really worrisome, particularly when you realize how close their candidate came to getting the Republican nomination.
cowboy
March 20th, 2009 | LINK
Do not interpret this as a defense of the LDS Church but aside from being secretive have they done anything illegal in regards to their politic machinations?
Accountants and legal advisors make errors and have to re-submit correct financial statements all the time. A lot of accounting rules are subjective and open to various interpretations. It’s human to make mistakes especially on complex political and tax issues. I give some latitude to the LDS Church to make good on revising their monetary contributions to NOM.
Being secretive is not illegal in all cases. The LDS Church knows how to work the system to its advantage. Getting their “Saints” to individually get politically active is not against the law.
We have to admit the LDS Church has cleverly exploited the avenues for getting their political motives enacted but have they done it illegally?
Again, I’m not defending their ethics nor their cause.
John
March 20th, 2009 | LINK
cowboy,
I did not say that being secretive is illegal. Lying on campaign forms is though illegal.
The real point that I want to make is that non-mormons have no reason to trust mormons based on their previous behavior, and would be wise to be suspicious of any mormon political involvement.
The morons have consistently lied thoughout the Prop 8 campaign (as they did in Hawaii, Alaska, and everywhere else they have been active). They lie constantly about political issues and their involvement. Why are they so secretive? What don’t they want the rest of us to know? What are their real goals? And are these goals compatible with what is good for the rest of America?
I have come to the very strong conclusion that mormon goals cannot be of benefit to the rest of America if they have to be peddled in such underhanded ways.
cowboy
March 20th, 2009 | LINK
John,
I appreciate what you are saying. It does seem underhanded. Not the way I would think a Church should act or be associated with people who do such actions.
That is why I have a hard time in understanding…how can a Church with a bevy of highly intelligent (read: top-notch) lawyers and the best PR money can buy would align themselves with such unscrupulous antics. They had to know there were lies told in the campaign. Even a BYU adjunct law professor said so in an open letter to his fellow Saints. It was a warning to the LDS Church to be aware of the untruths and the consequences. Apparently, his warnings and clear dissertation of the flaws in logic went unheeded by LDS members.
I guess the admonishments by the Mormon Prophet T. S. Monson to “do all they can to win” trumps what a lowly BYU professor writes in a blog.
I’m thinking the LDS Church might say they didn’t sanction those lies propagandized during the campaign. Maybe they weren’t directly involved in the misleading ad campaign. Of course, I was not in California (or Arizona) and I did not witness the misleading ads. So, I can’t say how the LDS Church was involved officially.
I do know that a few LDS Wards had read the “scare tactics” about gay marriage in their meetings and had discussions in their Relief Society and Priesthood meetings. However, I want to classify this as rouge actions by some Bishops and over-zealous Saints. I know I have Mormon friends and close family who understand the lies and misrepresentations of facts during the campaign. They are truly embarrassed by the some actions by rouge members of the Church.
I think a BTB commenter: Seth R (a Mormon) has said he was not happy with the lies and misinformation promulgated in the campaign.
Yes, John, the danger now for the LDS Church: “Mormon” will be forever linked to a negative connotation about politics. When they boasted about their political might they never counted on the negativity associated with such power…whether done in secret or not.
Whenever something nasty in politics happens…we can say: “That’s so Mormon….”
cowboy
April 6th, 2009 | LINK
Update:
Former Utah Attorney General D. L. Wilkinson gave his opinion about Karger in a Letter-to-the-Editor at the Salt Lake Tribune:
http://www.sltrib.com/ci_12048631
He complains Mr. Karger is a hater of the Mormons and therefore a bit “oxymoronic” (his word).
As for any protests at this last weekend’s LDS General Conference: None by the gays. Gays are going to do service projects instead of chanting and demonstrating at Temple Square.
From the Priesthood Conference: Apostle Boyd K. Packard said that men should be men and act accordingly.
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