The Daily Agenda for Wednesday, May 22
House of Commons officially passes marriage equality
British Commons Approves Marriage Equality Bill
Email address of Attorney General prosecuting 18 year old Florida lesbian
Gay Man's Murder Sparks Massive Rally
The Daily Agenda for Tuesday, May 21
Connecticut Scouts simply announce that they are accepting gay scout leaders
Church of Scotland allows ministers in relationship
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
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Ephilei
May 8th, 2009 | LINK
How ’bout, the 6th state will same-sex marriage would be scheduled to be available?
Of course, CA any day could say same-sex marriage is back, screwing up every ranking.
Dyssonance
May 9th, 2009 | LINK
6th state to recognize kinship ;)
Thomas Kraemer
May 9th, 2009 | LINK
The order in which legal marriages were first performed should include:
1. Minnesota May 18, 1970 (one legal same-sex marriage between Michael McConnell and Jack Baker was performed. Attorney Jack Baker believes his marriage is still legally valid because laws passed years later to outlaw same-sex marriages in Minnesota can’t be retroactive under ordinary constitutional law.)
See: http://thomaskraemer.blogspot.com/2008/11/life-magazine-gay-marriage-1971.html
and
Ken Bronson, “A Quest for Full Equality,” http://www.may-18-1970.org self-published May 18, 2004, p. 6-7, 48, from Ken Bronson’s Web site http://www.may-18-1970.org on Jack Baker’s marriage.
Disclosure: I was a member of Jack Baker’s gay liberation group.
Timothy Kincaid
May 11th, 2009 | LINK
Thomas, thanks for so very many years of activism. I didn’t include the McConnell/Baker marriage because the courts refused to recognize it. I also do not include the San Francisco Valentines Day marriages for the same reason.
aratina
May 11th, 2009 | LINK
You forgot Alaska as one of the first states to go pro-gay when its court decided that same-sex marriage was a fundamental human right following Hawaii’s court (see Brause v. Alaska), a finding that was supported by Alaska’s Democratic governor but overturned immediately by a popular constitutional amendment in November 1998. Should read:
The order in which courts have found that states must provide marriage and/or all its rights and benefits to same-sex couples:
1. Hawaii 1993/1997 (reversed by Constitutional amendment)
2. Alaska 1998 (reversed by constitutional amendment)
3. Vermont 1999
4. Massachusetts 2003
5. New Jersey 2006
6. California 2008 (perhaps reversed by Constitutional amendment)
7. Connecticut 2008
8. Iowa 2009
Timothy Kincaid
May 11th, 2009 | LINK
aratina,
Thank you for reminding us of the Brause case.
But I believe that that this case only was decided at the Superior Court Level. The Alaska Constitution was amended before the appeal at the Supreme Court level was heard.
But this does indeed illustrate the difficulty in making lists and in the language surrounding such lists. I said “the courts”, but wasn’t clear that I meant “the states’ highest courts”.
Had I been inclusive of all court decisions I would have to include those – such as New York – in which a lower court found for marriage but which was overturned by a higher court.
Which would also be an interesting list.
Thomas Kraemer
May 16th, 2009 | LINK
I don’t believe any court ruling ever found Jack Baker’s 1970 marriage to be invalid. The U.S. Supreme Court merely said it was a state matter and they did not declare the marriage to be invalid. The state of Minnesota reacted to the Supreme Court ruling by passing an anti-gay marriage law, which can’t be retroactive under ordinary constitutional law. This is why Jack Baker still believes his marriage is valid. (He also legally adopted his partner.)
I agree the above point is a historical nitpick, but there needs to be another list of legally questionable gay marriages, which would include the early marriage claims of Rev. Troy Perry, which were not clearly documented as Jack Baker’s marriage.
Back in 1970, most gay liberationists thought Jack Baker was crazy to say gay marriage was the most important milestone in gay rights. Back then, hippies and feminists were rejecting straight marriage as being oppressive. Why would gays want to marry instead of having sexual freedom?
We now know that Jack Baker was right!
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