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 lobbyMay 15th, 2009
Opponents of marriage equality only have a few arrows in their quiver. The strongest of these is “infringing on religious freedoms” and they have a handful of anecdotes that can be distorted to appear as though churches are going to lose their rights to speak or believe according to their faith.
Those who favor marriage equality consistently respond that we have no interest in infringing on their rights to religious self-determination nor are we trying to micro-manage their faith. And we point out that we couldn’t do so even if we wanted to; the First Amendment to the US Constitution protects the rights of religions.
However, in Connecticut and Vermont – and now proposed in New Hampshire – are reassurances, special provisions included to assure religions and those who practice them that their preachers and houses of worship will not be compelled to conduct ceremonies contrary to their faith. And those favoring marriage equality are not concerned because we know that these protections are already present in the Constitution.
But now that we offer these concessions, anti-gays are still not pleased. Because, as they’ve known all along, the objections which they raised were not truthful to begin with.
Consider the words of Kevin H. Smith, the executive director of anti-gay group Cornerstone Policy Research:
“The folks who [they are] claiming to be protecting in this bill are already protected in the First Amendment by the freedom of religion…”
Anti-gays have known all along that their claims that churches would lose their tax exempt status or preachers would be jailed was nothing but hot air. A convenient lie told to advance a political agenda, but one that they know full well is untrue.
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:
Ben in Oakland
May 15th, 2009
sarcasm, irony, WTF– all fail me.
Christopher Waldrop
May 15th, 2009
One of the things that prevents those of us who are in favor of marriage equality from playing on a level field is that the opponents are willing to lie as long as it serves their purposes.
Of course if opponents of marriage equality had to stick to the facts they wouldn’t have an argument to make.
Matt
May 15th, 2009
In this case, redundant is good.
Good that it gives US more “arrows” to make our case.
Good that it helps disarm the concerns of religious fundamentalists that their church’s rules will be infringed upon.
Good all around.
Perfect way to know where somebody you’re talking to stands on the issue- start by asking them, “Do you believe your town/state/country should be governed exclusively by the rules of your church and your religion?”
Ephilei
May 15th, 2009
@Timothy
It appears that quote has disappeared from the original article.
Bruno
May 15th, 2009
Which just proves that the ultimate goals of these far right organizations are to make our lives as miserable as possible and give us as little legal protection as possible, at no expense to their own legal protections. Hideous, monstrous, self-centered, bigoted asses they all are.
Timothy Kincaid
May 15th, 2009
Ephilei,
Sorry. I forgot to link to the Boston Globe article.
Richard W. Fitch
May 15th, 2009
“Every time the citizens are allowed to vote, even in California, citizens vote for marriage to mean the union between one man and one woman,” said Kris Mineau, president of the Massachusetts Family Institute. A majority of the public recognizes “that the primary role of marriage is children,” he said. “It takes a father and mother to create a child, and every child has an inalienable right to be raised by a father and mother.”……………….Mr. Mineau, please explain that to the hundreds of American heterosexual couples who CHOOSE not to have children. And while you are at it, why not invalidate those unions and the unions of those who are unable to bear children for whatever reason. When will this ‘Survival of the Species’ argument finally get a decent death??????
cd
May 16th, 2009
Don’t take Kris Mineau seriously. And don’t forget that almost all arguments the anti-gay side advances are purely instrumental: they take anything that works on the Undecided and its truth content is, er, secondary.
Their only true belief is that gay people and gay marriage just violate The Way Things Have To Be Because
My EgoGod Said So.Leave A Comment