Box Turtle Bulletin

Ugandan Church Leaders Back “Kill Gays” Bill

The independent Ugandan newspaper The Daily Monitor reports on a meeting of 200 religious leaders held in Entebbe this week in which participants encouraged the government to cut diplomatic ties to all countries demanding withdrawal of the Anti-Homosexuality Act that is now before Parliament.

The meeting brought together church leaders representing Catholic, Anglican, Orthodox, Seventh Day Adventist churches as well as Muslim kadhis. Participants pledged to actively campaign for the bill in their houses of worship. According to the Monitor:

At their three-day meeting in Entebbe this week, the spiritual leaders came up with several recommendations that are opposed to homosexuals. “Government should cut ties with donor communities and other groups which support ungodly values such as homosexuality and abortion,” one of the resolutions reads.

…The Secretary General of the Inter-religious Council of Uganda, Mr Joshua Kitakule, told Daily Monitor yesterday that development partners should not  interfere in the process of legislation in Uganda.

“Those countries should respect our spiritual values. They shouldn\’t interfere,” he said. “All senior religious leaders have been given copies of the Bill to read and educate people in the churches and mosques,” he added. Mr Kitakule said the Bill, which was tabled last month by Ndorwa West MP David Bahati, has not been understood by human rights activists and homosexuals. “The Bill is ok. But it has been misunderstood. We need to educate people on this proposed law,” he said.

Member of Parliament David Bahati, who introduced the bill into Parliament, was also at the conference and spoke in favor of the legislation. Echoing Richard Cohen, Don Schmierer, Scott Lively and other American ex-gay advocates, Bahati said:

“It is a learned behaviour and can be unlearned. You can\’t tell me that people are born gays.   It is foreign influence that is on work,” he said.

Click here to see BTB\’s complete coverage of recent anti-gay developments in Uganda.

Green Balloons

From TPM we learn the sad case of Rod Jetton, the former Missouri House Speaker with the porn-star name, who was arrested and charged with felonious assault. It seems that a sadomasochistic romp with his girlfriend went a bit too far.

According to the Kansas City Star, Jetton’s girlfriend alleged that Jetton had beaten and choked her, “resulting in unconsciousness and the loss of the function of a part of her body.”

Detective Bethany McDermott\’s affidavit says Jetton went to the woman\’s home around 9 p.m. Nov. 15 with two bottles of wine, which he allegedly opened alone in her kitchen. After drinking some of the wine and watching football, the statement said, the victim “began ‘fading\’ in and out and remembered losing consciousness several times.”

The affidavit says Jetton and the alleged victim agreed on a safe word — “green balloons” — that could be used to stop sexual relations during the evening.

Instead, the affidavit says, Jetton hit her on the face and choked her before engaging in intercourse. Jetton allegedly said, “You should have said ‘green balloons,\’ ” before leaving her home the next morning.

At question is whether the girlfriend was slipped a date-rape drug, which might have prevented her from using the “safe word.”

The irony of all this — and admit it: you knew this was coming — was that in 2007, Jetton removed a fellow Republican state lawmaker from his committee chairmanship because the lawmaker had changed a bill in order to end the state’s ban on gay sex. Jetton wrote in an op-ed at the time:

(Rep. Scott) Lipke chose to use the bill to delete 14 words from our laws in order to repeal the gay sex ban in Missouri. Thanks to that deletion, it is now legal to engage in deviate sexual intercourse with someone of the same sex here in Missouri. This law had been on our books for decades.

The U.S. Supreme Court 2003 rulling in Lawrence v. Texas made Misouri’s anti-gay law unenforceable. But Jetton still wanted to eliminate “deviate sexual intercourse.” I can only assume that Jetton believes that sado-masochism and date rape drugs aren’t “deviate.” Okay. Got that Peter?

What Did Don Schmierer Know?

Don Schmierer, a member of Exodus International’s Board of Directors was one of three Americans who traveled to Uganda to participate in an anti-gay conference last spring. That conference was the springboard from which anti-gay Ugandans propelled a pogrom against gay people which has resulted in proposed legislation to imprison gay Ugandans, to execute “repeat offenders” and HIV positive gays, to ban pro-gay advocacy, and to require friends, family, and acquaintances of gay people to turn them in to the government.

See our full coverage here.

Nine months after we here at Box Turtle Bulletin began our campaign to inform the world of this attack on human rights – after his participation was exposed by Rachel Maddow – Don Schmierer released a statement on the Exodus blog. In order to ensure that this statement is retained in its original form, it is included in its entirety at the bottom of this commentary.

The theme of Schmierer’s statement is that he was ignorant of any anti-gay political activism at the conference, that his message was redemptive and compassionate, and that he has no responsibility for the current state of affairs in Uganda.

But this is just the latest in the efforts of those at Exodus to position Schmierer in a such a way as to deflect criticism. We will inspect Schmierer’s statement, along with those of Exodus, and determine whether Don Schmierer was duped by anti-gay political activists or whether Don Schmierer is untruthfully seeking to cover up his part in an attack on human rights.

Let’s start at the beginning.

February 24, 2009 – Box Turtle Bulletin became aware of Don Schmierer’s scheduled attendance at the Uganda conference. We wrote a commentary condemning this decision and warning of possible consequences.

This conference will be taking place on very dangerous ground for LGBT citizens and residents of Uganda. Martin Ssempa, the influential evangelical pastor at Makerere Community Church, has called for open season on LGBT people – This is no idle threat.

Although we know that Exodus is aware of content at BTB, we left nothing to chance. I emailed Alan Chambers, President of Exodus International, and made certain that he was aware that a Board Member of his organization would be participating in the conference. Further, I made certain that Alan was aware of Lively’s anti-gay advocacy and give the following warning:

Considering Lively’s history, there is little doubt that the crux of his presentation will be to make claims about the nature and intent of gay persons in Uganda and to encourage reprisals, state action, and public abuse of gay persons in that country. His political and religious efforts in Balkan states has contributed greatly to physical harassment of gay persons in that area (including pelting gay Christians with excrement and rotten food), a result that he did not discourage.

March 1, 2009 – Alan replied off the record and I will respect that request by not making his communication public.

My response included the following:

Please let me know if you and the Exodus leadership develop a position on Don Schmierer’s activities in Uganda. We will, of course, be interested in seeing whether the statements of Scott Lively or event organizer Stephen Langa will be similar to the light-the-torches-grab-the-pitchforks language they have both used in the past and will be looking to see whether Schmierer denounces or implicitly endorses their rhetoric.

NOTE: By March 1, we had already warned Exodus/Chambers/Schmierer that the conference would be political in nature, would likely result in physical harm to gay Ugandans, and that Schmierer would need to denounce the rhetoric or that his participation would be perceived as an implicit endorsement.

March 5, 2009 – the Uganda anti-gay conference started. Steven Langa introduced the purpose of the conference and its American guests. Our reporting from that day:

Langa began his talk by saying that Uganda law, which provides a life sentence for those convicted of homosexual acts, isn\’t strong enough.

He then announced that foreign gays were bribing Ugandan children to spread homosexuality. And then the rest of the day was provided for Don Schmierer to tell attendees that “one of the biggest causes of homosexuality is the lack of “good upbringing” in families—children should be brought up in proper Christian ways.”

We have received private communication from some in attendance that Don Schmierer did present himself as a Board Member of Exodus International and left listeners with the impression that he was representing that organization at the conference.

NOTE: On the day that Schmierer spoke but before his presentation, Langa spoke about increasing civil penalties for homosexuality above their current life-sentence punishment. We have no report that Schmierer objected.

March 6, 2009 – A government official announced to the conference that Uganda would soon be considering a bill to crack down on homosexuality. Our reporting from that day:

The Minister of Ethics and Integrity, Dr. James Nsaba Buturo has today told a conference organized to discuss the ways to fight Homosexuality that he will soon submit a bill on pornography and homosexuality for discussion in Parliament.

Scott Lively encouraged the government to force gay people into ex-gay therapy.

That day Schmierer continued his discussions on family life. He made no assertions about the nature of homosexuality or gay people, but he gave his implicit endorsement of the assertions that would be presented by Lively.

After someone claimed that homosexuality is unnatural, Kasha asked, “Who decides what is natural?” Schmierer responded directly to the second question saying that his role at the workshop involves teaching about family values; other facilitators would answer questions about homosexuality being unnatural later in the conference.

A relatively unknown ex-gay named Caleb Lee Brundidge, an associate of Richard Cohen, shared his testimony that afternoon. However, first Steven Langa continued his attacks on gay people from a political perspective.

Langa was the first to take the floor. A harangue. Uganda is going into total moral collapse. It is worse and more serious than economic collapse. Soon, the world will turn inside out and upside down, and homosexuals will be presidents….!

Concerned by the reports out of Uganda, Dr. Warren Throckmorton, a supporter of traditional perspectives on sexuality with a history and contacts in the ex-gay world, recognized the situation in that nation to be volatile and dangerous and called on Alan Chambers to have Schmierer disavow the political agenda of the convention.

March 7, 2009 – The conference continued. Scott Lively spoke. Having been told that homosexuality is preventable by Don Schmierer and that it is changeable by Caleb Lee Brundidge, Lively was there to depict gay people as evil and the source of most of the world’s greatest inhumanities.

On Saturday, Lively repeated his discredited historical revisionist theory in which he claims that the cornerstone of Germany\’s Nazi lies firmly in the gay movement, and that the gay movement today, if left unchecked, will result in a similarly murderous fascism wherever it goes. In Kampala, he went further by expanding his examples of what he calls homosexuals\’ murderous impulse by blaming the 1994 Rwanda genocide on gay men.

Lively also played one of his favorite themes, equating homosexuality with pedophilia. As this is also one of Langa’s themes, their bold declarations that gay foreigners were preying on Uganda’s children was readily accepted.

To the best of our knowledge, Don Schmierer said absolutely nothing to contradict Lively’s absurdities, to dampen the fires of hatred and bigotry, to oppose oppressive political schemes, or to call for compassion or redemption.

March 8, 2009 – We note that Exodus International links to Scott Lively’s Nazi-revisionist claims with the title Homosexuality and the Nazi Party

March 9, 2009 – Exodus removes the link to Scott Lively without comment.

March 11, 2009 – We published an open letter to the Executive Board of Exodus calling on them to oppose the Ugandan political action and remove those responsible.

But truly concerned about the situation in Uganda and the shocking refusal of Exodus or Schmierer to respond, I took the additional step of contacting the executive director of an Exodus member ministry. Although we disagree about theology and the effectiveness of reorientation therapy, I respect his integrity.

We established a communication through which I was able to again reach out to Alan to plea for action to counteract the damage done at the conference.

March 13, 2009 – the Christian Post quotes Alan Chambers on the Uganda conference.

In response, Exodus International said it applauds its board member Don Schmierer, who attended the Uganda conference, for his effort to convey an “alternative message that encompasses a compassionate, biblical view of homosexuality,” according to a statement by Exodus International president Alan Chambers to The Christian Post on Wednesday.

The full statement:

“Unfortunately, Uganda as a country has demonstrated severe hostility towards homosexuals supporting criminalization of homosexual behavior and proposing compulsory therapy – positions that Exodus International unequivocally denounces. It is our sincere desire to offer an alternative message that encompasses a compassionate, biblical view of homosexuality not just here in America, but around the world. We applaud our board member\’s attempt to convey these truths to a country in need.”

There was nothing from Schmierer, not even acknowledgment of the applause.

March 14, 2009 – Someone commenting on a site for Australian skiers said the following:

Last week I sat next to this guy (Don Schmierer) on a flight from USA to Europe. He was on his way to Uganda to speak at a conference there on how to convert people from homosexuality.

We started talking and he was interesting. He was a nice guy, moderate in tone and personality, and concerned not to offend me in case I had different views.

Of course, he has batsh!t crazy ideas that The Gay is caused by a domineering parent, or neglected kids or broken homes. Or something. Whatever, it’s a 100% acquired condition. Also the Nazis were all gay.

He works for Exodus International, which apparently is the leading Christian ministry focusing on the ex-gay (conversion) thing. They are not short of cash as it’s funded by billionaire Howard Ahmanson. Africa is a big focus for them – it’s religious and predominantly anti-gay, and Exodus wants to keep it that way.

Anyway, if anyone wants “Preventing the Homosexual Condition in Today’s Youth” I now have a copy.

I was unaware of this comment until a few days ago when a reader linked to it. I am attempting to follow up with the commenter. Until then, I cannot vouch for its veracity.

NOTE: If this statement is accurate, it suggests that Schmierer was not only aware or Lively’s Nazi-revisionism, but was in agreement. Further, it appears that Schmierer was aware of the political implications of his trip.

March 28, 2009 – I asked the executive director of the ex-gay ministry with whom I was communicating for one final favor:

I know that Don Schmierer has contact info for Steven Langa. It was Langa that organized the conference he spoke at which was the initiation point for this political effort. Can you please contact Don and ask him if he will speak to Langa and do what he can to prevent violence.

My contact, distressed by the situation, said he would be happy to do so.

Summer 2009 – Caleb Bundidge writes of his trip to Uganda in Richard Cohen’s newsletter. (PDF: 7MB/12 pages)

The forty seminar participants were professional ministers, clergy, teachers, counselors, and SSA strugglers. All were greatly enlightened by the content of the presentations. Lives were changed forever thanks to those who contributed to my trip to Uganda! One Bishop in attendance was more affirming of the gay agenda. Through the course of the conference, he became more informed and had a change of mind and heart.

NOTE: Bundidge makes no mention whatsoever of a gay bishop in attendance. Nor has anyone else reporting about the conference from any perspective.

November 16, 2009 – Exodus prepares a letter which objected to specific provisions of the “Kill Gays” bill. They limited their criticism to only those portions that would impact the ability of ex-gay ministries to counsel same-sex attracted persons.

In the comments on our thread, Alan Chambers strengthened his objections to the bill and pledged to help work against it. He described Don Schmierer’s involvement as follows:

I remain absolutely sure that Don Schmierer had no idea what all of this was about until on the ground there and that his desire in speaking was to teach what he always teaches about giving grace to those in need.

December 2, 2009 – Rachel Maddow breaks the story naming Schmierer and his involvement in the conference.

December 3, 2009 – Don Schmierer broke his silence. He issued the statement we’ve included below and signs on, after the fact, to the Exodus letter which has previously been sent.

In reviewing the chain of events as I personally know them to be, and comparing them to the statement issued by Schmierer, I see some significant discrepancies. Frankly, I have difficulty in seeing Schmierer’s statement as being truthful.

If Don Schmierer would like to make another statement, one that is reflective of the facts, I invite him to do so. I would also remind him that true repentance includes attempting to remedy his wrong.

If Don Schmierer wants the gay community – or God – to forgive him for the evil that has resulted from his actions, he is morally obligated to do whatever he can – and my expectations are very high – to repudiate this bill and all that it represents, to denounce the political efforts of Steve Langa and Scott Lively, and to expend time, effort, finances, and political capital in seeing that gay Ugandans do not suffer as a result of his own personal contribution to the situation.

To do otherwise will tell us in no uncertain terms that while Don Schmierer speaks of love and compassion, these words are but sounding brass and tinkling cymbals.

Click here to see BTB\’s complete coverage of recent anti-gay developments in Uganda.

Click here to read Don Schmierer’s statement.

Obama administration scales back on AIDS response

The New York Times is reporting the Obama administration is scaling back the US’ response to the AIDS pandemic in favor of a new emphasis on pneumonia, diarrhea, malaria and fatal birth complications.

“I\’m holding my nose as I say this, but I miss George W. Bush,” said Gregg Gonsalves a long-time AIDS campaigner. “On AIDS, he really stepped up. He did a tremendous thing. Now, to have this happen under Obama is really depressing.”

The change in focus is being denied by Dr. Eric Goosby, the new global AIDS coordinator and chief of Pepfar, the man who also refused to consider whether the Ugandan “Kill Gays” bill should be considered when putting millions of taxpayer dollars under that country’s governmental control.

But the blame is being laid on perhaps a more powerful voice in the White House.

AIDS advocates complained bitterly that they had been betrayed and that the Bush administration\’s best legacy was being gutted — and they blame a doctor and budget adviser who is also the brother of the White House chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel.

And, indeed, the new policy does seem to adopt some of the assertions of Dr. Ezekiel J. Emanuel.

Some advocates for overall global health — in contrast to those lobbying for AIDS — expressed regret but said the administration was being practical by shifting to buying goods that save more lives for less money, like water filters, oral rehydration packets and generic antibiotics, rather than putting adults on antiretroviral drugs at a cost of $35 to $2,000 a year.

That was the position advocated by Dr. Emanuel in a paper he published in The Journal of the American Medical Association in November 2008, just as Mr. Obama was being elected.

Entitled “U.S. Health Aid beyond Pepfar,” it argued that spending $48 billion more on the $15 billion program first proposed by Mr. Bush in 2003 was “not the best use of international health funding.”

Paying for “simple but more deadly diseases, such as respiratory and diarrheal illnesses, the U.S. government could save more lives — especially young lives — at substantially lower cost,” he wrote.

Although the Bush administration must be credited for introducing and funding a response to the international AIDS pandemic, it is not without criticism. Tied to the humanitarian aid was a lot of social manipulation designed to impose the morality and culture of American social conservatives onto foreign populaces.

Yet it is disappointing that the Obama administration’s plan is not taking clear steps to correct these problems.

It is nearly silent on several controversial issues: how much Pepfar will emphasize abstinence, whether and how it will get condoms to patients of the many missionary hospitals that refuse to issue them, whether it will support women\’s health clinics that also do abortions, whether it will support giving clean needles or methadone to drug addicts, whether it will require groups working with prostitutes to oppose prostitution, and whether it will cut off countries that criminalize homosexual sex.

But we already have the administration’s answer on the last item.

Bloomberg: Uganda To Drop Death Penalty, Add Forced “Conversions”

Bloomberg is reporting that Uganda’s political leadership has decided to drop the death penalty and lifetime imprisonment from their proposed Anti-Homosexuality Act:

Uganda will drop the death penalty and life imprisonment for gays in a refined version of an anti- gay bill expected to be ready for presentation to Parliament in two weeks, James Nsaba Buturo, the minister of ethics and integrity, said.

The draft bill, which is under consideration by a parliamentary committee, will drop the two punishments to attract the support of religious leaders who are opposed to these penalties, Buturo said today in a phone interview from the capital, Kampala.

But it looks like another idea taken directly from the three-day conference last March is finding its way into the bill — forced conversions:

In addition to formulating punishments for the gay people, the bill will also promote counseling to help “attract errant people to acceptable sexual orientation,” said Buturo.

L-R: Unidentified woman, American holocaust revisionist Scott Lively, International Healing Foundation's Caleb Brundidge, Exodus International boardmember Don Schmierer, Family Life Network (Uganda)'s Stephen Langa, at the time of the March 2009 anti-gay conference in Uganda.

This sounds remarkably like the recommendation that came out of the conference put on last March by Holocaust revisionist Scott Lively, Exodus International board member Don Schmierer, and the International Healing Foundation’s Caleb Brundidge. According to that recommendation, LGBT people would receive either a lighter or suspended sentence if they went into disproved, unscientific counseling to try to “cure” them of their “affliction.” Of course, a choice between a Ugandan prison and “counseling” is a false choice as anyone with half decent intelligence can quickly deduce. Unsaid is what happens when that counseling inevitably fails.

Scott Lively is already on record as supporting this idea. Does Richard Cohen? More importantly, does Exodus International? Or will they do the right thing and denounce these modifications as unacceptable? I’ll let you lay odds in the comments.

Meawhile, it appears that other draconian aspects of the proposed Anti-Homosexuality Act will remain intact. Other provisions in the bill would:

• Expand the definitions for homosexual acts, making conviction easier.
• Criminalize “attempted homosexuality” with imprisonment of seven years.
• Criminalize all speech and peaceful assembly for those who advocate on behalf of LGBT citizens in Uganda with fines and imprisonment of between five and seven years.
• Criminalize the act of obtaining a same-sex marriage abroad with lifetime imprisonment. This penalty may be reduced in the new version, but the act still appears to be criminalized to some extent.
• Add a clause which forces friends or family members to report LGBT persons to police within 24-hours of learning about that individual\’s homosexuality or face fines or imprisonment of up to three years.
• Add an extra-territorial and extradition provisions, allowing Uganda to prosecute LGBT Ugandans living abroad.
• Void all international treaties, agreements and human rights obligations which conflict with this bill.

Click here to see BTB\’s complete coverage of recent anti-gay developments in Uganda.

Bruuuuuuuuce!

A statement from the Boss:

Bruce Springsteen performing in Buffalo, NY Nov. 22.

A BRIEF STATEMENT FROM BRUCE
Like many of you who live in New Jersey, I’ve been following the progress of the marriage-equality legislation currently being considered in Trenton. I’ve long believed in and have always spoken out for the rights of same sex couples and fully agree with Governor Corzine when he writes that, “The marriage-equality issue should be recognized for what it truly is — a civil rights issue that must be approved to assure that every citizen is treated equally under the law.” I couldn’t agree more with that statement and urge those who support equal treatment for our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters to let their voices be heard now.

Cohen On Maddow: “Disavows All Relationship” To Uganda’s “Kill Gays” Bill

I just finished watching Rachel Maddow’s interview with Richard Cohen, of the International Healing Foundation. It’s hard to know where to begin in understanding the huge gulf between what Cohen said and what is actually true, particularly with regard to IFH’s culpability in fueling the flames behind the “Kill Gays” bill that is currently before Uganda’s parliament. Fortunately, Maddow was well-prepared.

It is extremely rare to see television personalities so well versed in this particular topic. Kudos to Rachel and her staff for an excellent segment.

There was a lot of discussion over Cohen’s characterization of gays as predators, a characterization that is constantly repeated by those who are putting forth the bill and included in memorandum attached as a preamble to the bill itself. At the 5:10 mark, Rachel Maddow pointed out that Cohen’s book, Coming Out Straight — which Cohen has donated untold numbers to Uganda to support their Kill-the-Gays mission — portrays gays as predators. Cohen denied that, insisting that Caleb Brundidge, who was at the Uganda conference on IHF’s behalf, didn’t convey that message.

That is a lie. In a summer 2009 newsletter (PDF: 7MB/12 pages) from the International Healing Foundation, Brundidge writes about his travels to Uganda. Concerning the gays-as-predators rumors, Brundidge writes:

On the other hand, the word is out on the street to the young people: If you want to make good money, pretend to be “gay.” Why? Gay activists are recruiting impoverished young boys and girls, offering them money to impersonate homosexuals. “Just tell people you are gay and we\’ll pay you money.” In this way, they are trying to skew the data regarding the numbers of people who are homosexual. Last year one school teacher was told this information by two young female students. They admitted that they were being paid to say they were gay. Additionally these girls recruited 13 more girls that year! This is happening throughout their nation. Gay activism is alive and a powerful force throughout the world. They are raising up the next generation to be gay activists, just as in the USA.

In this particular passage which Brundidge repeats without questioning its authenticity or illogic, he doesn’t say that gays are being sexual predators, per se. But he does imply it by suggesting that these young people would become “the next generation [of] gay activists.” After all, people don’t become gay activists just because someone pays them to do so. The entire context of this account is the supposed recruitment of young people into homosexuality, which in Uganda is seen as predatory by whatever means that implies.

Also in that newsletter, Brundidge says that Cohen “donated his books and Counselor Training Program CD series and manual to the Family Life Network. They will use these resources to study and learn how to help those affected by SSA and their loved ones.” (SSA, by the way, is the acronym he uses to describe what he calls “Same-Sex Attraction” — always capitalized. More on that later.) I haven’t shelled out any money for his CD series, but the book, Coming Out Straight, certainly pushes the gays-as-predators theme.

In the second edition, the one that Cohen donated multiple copies of for distribution in Uganda, Cohen dedicates two full pages on sexual abuse as a cause of homosexuality. The researchers he cited say that there are some correlations with sexual abuse and uncertainty over one’s sexual orientation, but no reputable researcher as been willing to pin child sexual abuse as a cause of homosexuality, despite Cohen’s distortion of those researchers’ studies.

And who does all of this molestation. For that anwer, Cohen turns to  Paul Cameron. Maddow read this passage from page 49 at the 6:15 mark. Cohen writes:

Homosexuals are at least 12 times more likely to molest children than heterosexuals; homosexual teachers are at least 7 times more likely to molest a pupil; homosexual teachers are estimated to have committed at least 25 percent of pupil molestation; forty (40%) percent of molestation assaults were made by those who engage  in homosexuality.”⁸⁶

Endnote 86 refers to a Paul Cameron study published in 1986 the pay-to-publish vanity press Psychological Reports, which is not a reputable journal. Maddow does a great job in recounting the many professional organizations who have denounced Cameron for his unethical behavior and fraudulent “research” over the years. Cohen claims that his forthcoming third edition of the book won’t have that citation. He doesn’t say whether his own mischaracterization of research by David Finkelhor, Patrick Dimock, Mike Lew, or many others will appear in that edition or not. (We covered much of that same material in our report, “Testing the Premise: Are Gays a Threat to our Children?”) At any rate, it won’t matter because it is present, plain as day, in the untold numbers of free books he has already shipped off to Uganda.

Cohen kept insisting that his whole effort was to preach of his “love” for gay people and not demonize them. Maddow refuted that rather effectively by repeating his own written words. She read loosely from that summer 2009 newsletter (PDF: 7MB/12 pages), this time from a piece written by Cohen himself:

For the past 40 years, members of the gay rights movement have been working to change the fabric of our culture. They have strategically and systematically been indoctrinating members of society, targeting the youth… As a result of their strategic plan, millions of innocent young children have been enrolled into this false teaching and led into a homosexual lifestyle.

If that’s not demonizing, I don’t know what is.

Maddow also read from Cohen’s 2008 book Gay Children, Straight Parents: A Plan for Family Healing, from page 75, on what supposedly “causes” homosexuality:

10: Other factors. Divorce, death of a parent, adoption, religion, race, rejection by opposite-sex peers.

Cohen reacted, “Race, that’s not in there.” But it’s right there in black and white, which led to the best line of the night: “I’m reading from your book, dude!” Cohen first tried to claim Maddow was reading out of context, but she continued reading passages before and after that line. Cohen was never able to explain how race could contribute to homosexuality. He also doesn’t explain it in his book. He finally had to tell Maddow that race has nothing to do with sexuality. Which means that he also acknowledged, in so many words,  that he — the guy who continuously promotes himself as an “expert” and “professional therapist” — has written two deeply flawed books. And that he shipped off a bunch of deeply flawed books to Uganda where his vilification of LGBT people has found fertile ground.

Cohen kept trying to convince Maddow that his organization doesn’t “cure” anyone, but he does use the word “healing” constantly and insist that people can “change.” To me, this is just semantics. What is “healing” if it’s not a cure? Furthermore, he constantly refers to homosexuality as “SSA,” or Same-Sex Attraction” — always capitalized. He used to called it SSAD, or Same-Sex Attraction Disorder, but he only stopped doing that when it became too untenable for him to call homosexuality a disorder after all the professional organizations insisted that professionals should not do so. On Maddow’s program, Cohen kept repeating his web site as ChangeIsPossible.com. But type that into your web browser and where does that URL redirect to? That’s right: GayToStraight.org, and in the program he kept referring to himself as being completely straight. If that’s not meant to be taken as a “cure,” then I wonder how Cohen would explain the difference.

So we have a man who says that gays molest children, then takes it back. He says that he doesn’t demonize LGBT people, has a passage he wrote just last summer demonizing LGBT people read back to him, and he has nothing to say. And he says that race is a factor, and then says, okay, it isn’t. And he doesn’t “cure” gay people, he just “heals” and changes them. And by the time the interview ended, he was left sputtering that the American Counseling Association disbarred him for life because they are anti-ex-gay. In fact, it was for ethical violations, and Maddow’s audience was left with numerous examples of Cohen’s lack of integrity by the time she was done with him.

But before we end this, we should note one positive thing on Cohen’s behalf: with all that, Cohen spoke out forcefully against Uganda’s proposal to legislate LGBT people out of existence. Whether he’s doing that because he has a new-found respect for gay people or because he’s trying to salvage his own tattered reputation, we don’t know — but I have my suspicions. At any rate, he said he is not only against executing LGBT people, he is also against imprisoning them. He’s a proven fraud, and an idiot to boot. But again, we’ll take what we can get.

Click here to see BTB\’s complete coverage of recent anti-gay developments in Uganda.

Irish Evangelical Group Supports Civil Partnerships

As we reported earlier the Republic of Ireland is considering a Civil Partnership bill which would grant Ireland’s same-sex couples many of the rights and obligations of heterosexual married couples. That law is exptected to pass. Evangelical Alliance Ireland has issued a statement supporting the bill.

You read that right. Even though they give no ground whatsoever on theology, Evangelicals in Ireland are supporting the bill (PDF: 333KB/4 pages):

The Christian Scriptures make it clear that God’s purpose for his gift of sex is that it would be the ultimate physical expression of love tween a man and a woman in the context of the covenant of marriage. However, the Gospel requires us that we show grace to those who fundamentally disagree with our convictions and who do not shape their lives according to what we believe is good for them. Jesus requires of his followers that they love and do good to those who oppose them or who hold to different ethical standards as they do.

The question we face is how followers of Jesus Christ are to live in a society that does not believe as they do and may even oppose principles we hold to, seeing them as out-dated, illiberal and even oppressive.

Some will criticize such a stance as a “cop out.” But the challenge to incarnate and command an alternative way of living as followers of Jesus is no cop out. We face this challenge of showing the power and beauty of marriage as God’s intended context for sex, for the raising of children and for the thriving of society. We face the challenge of showing the strength of friendships, both same gender and opposite gender, that are based on loving as Jesus has loved us. Facing these challenges is no cop out. It is the essence of Christian discipleship.

Irish Evangelicals are fare from unanimous on this. Another group, Aontas (previously known as the Association of Irish Evangelical Churches) criticizes the move.  “Aontas remains opposed to the Civil Partnership Bill because it undermines the status of marriage,” said Paudge Mulvihill, the group’s honorary secretary.

US Christian Leaders Oppose Uganda’s “Kill Gays” Bill

A collection of religious leaders organized by Faith in the Public Life have issued a statement in opposition to Uganda’s “Kill Gays” bill (pdf).

And, unlike the careful language of some that only seems to sympathize with ex-gay ministries and oppose mandated reporting, this statement seems to find Christian sympathy for the targets of this legislation and is not conditional in its opposition.

Our Christian faith recognizes violence, harassment and unjust treatment of any human being as a betrayal of Jesus’ commandment to love our neighbors as ourselves. As followers of the teachings of Christ, we must express profound dismay at a bill currently before the Parliament in Uganda. The “Anti-Homosexuality Act of 2009” would enforce lifetime prison sentences and in some cases the death penalty for homosexual behavior, as well as punish citizens for not reporting their gay and lesbian neighbors to the authorities.

As Americans, some may wonder why we are raising our voices to oppose a measure proposed in a nation so far away from home. We do so to bear witness to our Christian values, and to express our condemnation of an injustice in which groups and leaders within the American Christian community are being implicated. We appeal to all Christian leaders in our own country to speak out against this unjust legislation.

In our efforts to imitate the Good Samaritan, we stand in solidarity with those Ugandans beaten and left abandoned by the side of the road because of hatred, bigotry and fear. Especially during this holy season of Advent, when the global Christian community prepares in hope for the light of Christ to break through the darkness, we pray that they are comforted by God’s love.

Regardless of the diverse theological views of our religious traditions regarding the morality of homosexuality, in our churches, communities and families, we seek to embrace our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters as God’s children worthy of respect and love. Yet we are painfully aware that in our country gays and lesbians still face hostility and violence. We recognize that such treatment degrades the human family, threatens the common good and defies the teachings of our Lord — wherever it occurs.

Click here to see BTB\’s complete coverage of recent anti-gay developments in Uganda.

Click here to see the statement’s signatories.

Episcopalians house homeless gay youth

Matthew 25:34-40

Christendom has a well-deserved reputation of behaving abominably towards gay people, particularly gay youth. Every gay person knows someone who during their youth was mocked, tormented, or thrown out of their home, all in the name of Christianity. For some, it was even worse.

We regularly confront those who, like those “family” organizations that testified in opposition to marriage equality yesterday in New Jersey, come bearing the title of minister but blatantly spew hatred and lies. We know that when we hear “the Bible says” that it is almost invariably going to be some quotation of Scripture that is selected to bash, condemn, or demean gay people.

The Catholic Church in D.C. recently went so far as to claim that if gay people received equal marriage treatment under the law, then they would stop providing care for the poor. There is little wonder that for many gay people, all of their experiences tell them that “Christianity = Hate”.

So Carl Siciliano, the founder of the Ali Forney Center, a group that helps homeless gay youth, was hesitant when he was approached by a Christian group. Although they said they wanted to help, gay people are accustomed to “help” that is less charitable than it is an attempt to “save the homosexual from his sinful and destructive lifestyle”. (New York Times)

“For a lot of us, when we hear about Christianity, our stomachs kind of churn,” Mr. Siciliano said in an interview. “Another part of me is very grateful the church is making this kind of gesture.”

But this time the help was genuinely charitable. The Episcopal Community Services of Long Island and the Episcopal Diocese of Long Island contributed $200,000 to create and house a new 16-bed shelter at the Church of St. Andrew\’s in Astoria.

But the partnership is less about politics than about simple charity, said Bishop Lawrence C. Provenzano, who represents 146 congregations in the Episcopal Diocese of Long Island (which includes Brooklyn and Queens).

“I think it\’s an obligation to care for God\’s people,” Bishop Provenzano said. “This is basic nuts-and-bolts Christianity.”

Amen.

There is no small amount of anti-Christian hostility from many readers of our site. And though we try to minimize broad-stroke attacks on people of faith, there is no doubt that public Christianity has earned mistrust and even hatred from gay people many times over.

But perhaps this story – and I do see this as part of a trend – can begin the process of repairing the image of the faith. And I dare say that if all Christians behaved like the Episcopalians on Long Island, far more Americans – including our readers – would see religion as a positive force in the world rather than a vehicle for superstition, bigotry, and control of others.

Marriage passed by NJ Senate Judiciary

The bill now goes to the full New Jersey Senate on Thursday.

Truly Friends, indeed

Anti-gays often declare that marriage equality is a religious freedom issue. And they are right.

When one church, or a handful of churches, persuade, coerce, or cajole legislators or voters to enact the rules of their sacraments into law and insist that other religious denominations cannot have their sacraments recognized, then religious freedom has been denied.

And it is to protest such encoding of religion into state law that a group of Quakers has taken bold action. (MN Public Radio)

A group of Twin Cities Quakers has decided to stop signing marriage certificates for opposite-sex couples until the state legalizes gay marriage.

“We’re simply trying to be consistent with the will of God as we perceive it,” said Paul Landskroener, clerk of the Twin Cities Friends Meeting, in an interview with MPR’s All Things Considered on Monday.

Please understand that this was not a decision taken lightly. Nor was it a choice to act in spite of religious faith. This decision is the direct response of how they believe that they have been divinely directed.

“The simplest way to say it is we feel very strongly and very clearly led that in the present time we simply cannot continue to participate in what we believe to be an unjust and inconsistent with our religious testimonies legal marriage procedure”

Pepsi Responds To Reports of Murder Music Sponsorship In Uganda

Pepsi has released a brief statement in response to reports that Pepsi sponsored a murder music concert by Beenie Man in Kampala over the weekend. Pepsi responded:

We are appalled by the performer\’s lyrics and find them repugnant.  Our bottling partner in Uganda was not aware of the performer\’s views and never would have sponsored the concert with this knowledge.  Moving forward, we will work closely with our bottling partners to be more vigilant about the events associated with our brands.”

And yes, our web site was down for a couple of hours this afternoon. All the traffic coming in concerning this story brought the web site’s host server to its knees. I’ve been on the phone with a very helpful service support person who talked me through several options. Hopefully things will return to normal in the next few days.

NJ Senate Judiciary Committee vote on marriage equality

UPDATE: (9:18)

With 25 opposed and 70 supporters, Sarlo thinks they’ve heard everything they need to hear so far and is asking only to speak if you have something truly new. Every Senator seems to agree; additional testimony will not change outcome of vote.

They’ve voted to “end debate”. Which is odd… that means that not only is testimony over, they will go straight to a vote.

Now to procedure:
(it’s a bit hard to hear)

Baroni’s amendment to protect religious associations is accepted as friendly; Weinberg the bills sponsor seconded the amendment.

Weinberg amends her own bill to remove the exemption for fees.

Amendment presented by Cardinale to have the bill go to the public before becoming effective. Motion to table amendment – motion is tabled (5 – 3) and will not be voted on.

Motion to move the bill (end discussion and amendments).

Senator Cardinale argues that people should write wills, advance directives, and all sorts of legal documents in order to take care of problems. “We don’t need to go to marriage to cure the problems of civil unions.”

He thinks that there are studies about “consequences” to children of same-sex marriage. He thinks there’s some study in France.

He believes that the use of the term marriage will promote a lifestyle. He doesn’t believe that all gay folks have chosen to be gay but some have chosen a path. This bill will encourage more to choose that path and he doesn’t think its good for society.

He argues that Corzine is legally still the governor but not morally empowered to make reaching changes. He’s lost his mandate.

Kyrillos, Cardinale, & Beck vote no. Bateman votes no but if the bill fails on Thursday he will join a bipartisan effort to try and fix the problems with civil unions.

Baroni says it’s all about balance – balancing religious protections against gay couples. Equal treatment at law is not too much to ask. He is the first NJ lawmaker to say this about marriage equality: “I vote yes”. The crowd applauds.

Sen. Weinberg applauds Sen. Sarlo (as have many others). She votes yes.

Sen. Stack can’t think of a better day. He votes yes.

Smith and Scutari left “yes” votes. This (with the Lesniak and Gill votes) now assures that this bill will pass.

Lesniak votes yes.

Sen. Gill lectures Bateman telling him that there’s no way to fix civil unions. Rather long windedly. No, very very long windedly. Now she’s talking about 3/5ths of a person and women’s right to vote.

As an African American and as a woman, this is a civil rights struggle. She knows the community that identifies with her wants her to take a difference stance, but she believes in a constitution.

She votes yes.

Sen. Girgenti commends everyone. But this bill “changes the fundamental definition” of marriage. It’s a “major cultural change” He votes “no”

Chairman Sarlo votes “no”.

UPDATE: (8:49)

Tom and Betty Wyka support bill. The bill can’t change their relationship one bit. They are involved in scouts and the Catholic Church.

There was never a choice about his heterosexuality.

The point is all about fear, it’s the language of fear. Be courageous.

Heidi Yehman (?) supports bill. She’s Baptist from a long line of Baptist preachers.

Senator Sarlo wants to bring the bill to a vote tonight so he’s encouraging folks to be brief. They aren’t.

UPDATE: (8:34)

Thomas Proehl – NY law school. Trustee bar association.

No one says that this law is working. And the hearing were fair.

Senator Cardinale just effectively called him a liar. WOW

And Cardinale is suggesting that there those with civil unions who don’t want them elevated to marriage. And we’re doing them a disservice.

Senator Gill apologizes to Proehl for him being called a liar.

Jeff Gardiner, neighbor of Senator Sarlo, on the board of Blue Jersey. Lived and worked in most every county.

If you don’t pass this, we’ll be back every year until we are equal.

Naomi Collier, attorney and mother.

In an interracial marriage. Its the same hatred and confusion then as now.

UPDATE: (8:02)

Some child is speaking. You can read her testimony here.

Some guy whose name I missed: Nothing is more damaging than not having a father in the home. Never ever has marriage been defined as other than a faithful union between a man and a woman.

Sodomy is not a sexual union! Wow, ranting homophobia. Do they think this is a winning argument? Yet this got applause.

Dr. King vehemently opposed same-sex rights. Huh?

Senator Cardinale was very impressed with an argument made in some article about why man-woman marriage is a gold standard. And this gold standard deserves preferential treatment.

The moral problem we have with civil unions is that is attempts to set up a similar relationship.

Oh wait. I think this is Brian Brown, from National Organization for Marriage. He’s an articulate speaker but his homophobia is not hidden.

We oppose the “march towards marriage” not the benefits. If given absolute power… yes, he would not repeal civil unions but open it up to “any two individuals” like his grandmother and himself.

Doug Tewen (?), a pastor. Several hundred people signed a petition.

More scripture quoting.

We didn’t create the term marriage so its important. It belongs to faith based belief groups (other than those whom they dislike, of course).

More John Adams quoting.

Laurel Lavaris (?) – Don’t discriminate against her by not allowing her to define marriage for the state.

Speaker from Garden State Family for Moral Values, some Jewish group. Reading quickly and mumbling.

Bill would spiritually decimate Jews, Christians and Muslims.

It’s harmful to religious to live in society that disagrees with them, I think.

Catholic Charities in Massachusetts lost its license to provide adoption. (completely untrue)

What would happen to a child turned over to two adult homosexuals? Think about it.

This isn’t tolerance, it’s barbarism. Barbarism!!

The next guy is boring and I don’t know what his name is. He’s rambling on about speeding. His “analogy” is completely nutty. He’s like the crazy uncle that has an opinion.

Next guy, didn’t get his name. He’s carrying bolts and nuts. Just in case we need a physical illustration of f*cking. You can’t hold marriage together with two nuts or two bolts.

Michael Donnely (?) from Hamilton NJ. It’s silly to pretend that assigning a word to the “condition of their living” is going to end prejudice. Only the call of God can do that.

You have a problem with God. But God is in the constitution.

Marriage is predefined. Thousands of years ago.

The people here don’t represent the entire state. It’s baloney to say you’re elected to do what is right.

The citizens of New Jersey want to vote.

UPDATE: (7:27)

Supportive ministers are done speaking. Now a bunch of “family” groups are speaking. As is the rule of thumb, any organization with the word “family” in their name oppose gay families and any group with “truth” in the name will speak anything but.

Rambling woman (Dr. Rain?) refuses to discuss bill and just was asked three times to make a point. Her lies:

A lifestyle wrought with promiscuity and disease. Average age “much too young”. Over 100 partners. Marriage would raise the cost and jeopardize the financial health of the family.

Ocean Beach Methodist lost its tax exemption (simply not true).

Carolee Adams – Eagle Forum sings the praises of Tea Party groups. Insists that legislators should listen to the Tea Party protesters.

These folks are incapable of saying “gay”. They are compelled to say homoSEXual.

You should laminate your health power of attorney and carry it with you. It’s a simple solution.

Responding to a gay kid who was attacked for being gay: we know about those who are suicidal because they’ve lost the love of their life. Children are harassed for being over weight or having buck teeth.

Some Minuteman woman: equality means we all get to vote on this issue.

Loretta Yin a member of the 14th District for Traditional Marriage: not identifying the divine origin of marriage reveals an anti-religious bias. That’s just bat-poop crazy.

Amendments [provided to protect religious groups] don’t protect religious freedoms because these amendments can be changed.

The choice to behave in sexual conduct is something that can be controlled by government.

Man from same group. we know from prison studies that homosexuality is a learned behavior and a choice.

He goes on to ramble about how Jesus defined marriage by banning divorce. I don’t think that’s going to influence Senator Weinberg.

Len Deo, NJ Family Policy Counsel – oh wow, when I heard his voice I thought it was a woman, probably an ex-lesbian. Deo’s group was the one that Carrie Prejean was scheduled to speak at the night after her sex tapes were disclosed (Huckabee filled in).

Why were there not more complaints filed about violations of civil unions?

Gregory Quinlan – ah, here’s the ex-gay.

Regarding bigotry imposed on people of faith by homosexual community.

Crystal Dixon fired from university for anti-gay rant in newspaper. We are marginalizing people of faith.

Does this bill protect people like me?!? Quinlan, a PFOXer, is very aggressive.

The Assembly of God minister apparently left.

UPDATE: (6:54)

A whole host of ministers are speaking in support of marriage equality. As one asked, “why can’t I conduct the marriages that my church supports?”

Lutheran minister: This is an issue of religious liberty.

Unitarians, Methodists, Episcopalians, Friends (Quakers), and Jews also speaking in support.

UPDATE: (6:23)

Knights of Columbus opposes marriage equality. And although he’s pretending that he supports civil unions, all his arguments are blatantly homophobic. “Our children will be taught that homosexual lifestyle is as good as heterosexuals. They’ll teach that homosexuality is normal. And it’s NOT!”

You know, I’d believe these folks who come and say that Civil Unions are quite good enough… if they hadn’t opposed them when they came up.

I want to ask this guy – and the Bishop who spoke earlier – one question: Have there ever been, are there now, or will there ever be ANY instance in which the Catholic Church has supported ANY increase in ANY rights to ANY same-sex couples in ANY venue in ANY place at ANY time?

The KOC speaker also proved that I am an amazing seer. As I predicted, the determination by the court that Boissoin was entitled to his vile ranting would not stop anti-gays from using him as a martyr.

UPDATE: (6:01)

Episcopal Bishop endorses the bill: Marriage traditionally was not between a man and a woman. Rather it was a contract between two men, a father and a groom.

UPDATE: (5:55)

Amazing. This rabbi is defending slavery. Biblical slavery was benevolent, you see.

UPDATE: (5:47)

It bothers me when Jews speak of “Judeo-Christian values”. That is a term created by conservative Christians primarily to co-opt Jewish authority and to speak for Jews, usually contrary to what Jews would actually say. And this rabbi just also referred to God’s relationship with humanity as similar to a husband and wife. Is this guy a messianic Jew?

But in any case, these Jews are at least honest. They don’t just oppose to gay marriage, they oppose gay people entirely.

He speaks of people who want tolerance and then acceptance and then dominance followed by their intolerance. Gee, thanks, Rabbi. But I think you need not worry about gay dominance.

UPDATE: (5:41)

An organization of Orthodox Jews is now requesting that senators oppose marriage equality. Their spokesman is reading so quickly that his testimony is unintelligible but it seems that his primary objection is that allowing gay people to marry would mean that gay people are not inferior to heterosexuals.

We’ve already heard from a few rabbis that support equality.

UPDATE: (4:54)

Sorry for being down. We are getting a lot of traffic today.

Testimony has been going on for a while. Supporters have included Julian Bond of the NAACP, a Republican legislator from Vermont, and the State Bar. Opponents have included the Catholic Church and the New Jersey Family Policy Counsel.

One amendment to exempt religious societies has been presented and accepted by the bill’s proponent as “friendly”.

At present it appears that there are at least six yes votes including at least one Republican.

UPDATE: (2:08)

The Judiciary Committee consists of:

D – Sarlo, Paul A. – Chair
D – Girgenti, John A. – Vice-Chair
R – Baroni, Bill
R – Bateman, Christopher
R – Beck, Jennifer
R – Cardinale, Gerald
D – Gill, Nia H.
R – Kyrillos, Joseph M.
D – Lesniak, Raymond J.
D – Scutari, Nicholas P.
D – Smith, Bob
D – Stack, Brian P.
D – Weinberg, Loretta – chief sponsor of marriage equality in New Jersey

Democrats outnumber Republicans 8 to 5. However, party registration appears not to be an indicator of support for or opposition to marriage equality.

(1:53) Today the New Jersey Senate Judiciary Committee will vote on the bill to provide marriage equality to their state. Testimony The Committee was scheduled to begin at 1:00 pm. Supporters and opponents are on hand to rally committee members to their cause. (NJ.com)

More than a thousand supporters of gay marriage surrounded the Statehouse today before filing into the Statehouse Annex and making a beeline for the Senate Judiciary Committee for what is expected to be a long, contentious hearing.

Families with children who are gay said they came together to show how important the bill is for them.
…
Opponents of the measure also came out in droves. A group of Hasidic Jewish rabbis protesting the bill’s passage were gathering in the Statehouse halls. A car outside the Statehouse was adorned with posters that read “No to gay marriage” and urged people to call lawmakers.

What’s Good For Uganda Is Good For Canada?

That’s what the College of Prayer thinks. Two members of College of Prayer introduced the notorious “Kill Gays” bill in Uganda’s Parliament, with the full blessing of the head of the College of Prayer’s Ugandan campus. Now Bruce Wilson at Talk To Action has found that College of Prayer Canada head Rev. David Chotka wants to plant some seeds for Ottawa:

When the team returned to North America, they received a phone call from David Chotka, COP Canada. David said, “I have three-twelve members of the Canadian Parliament who have heard about what God is doing in Uganda and would like to attend the Parliamentary COP [College of Prayer — ed.] in Uganda next year. They are interested in bringing the College of Prayer to the Canadian Parliament.” It seems that God continues to expand our spheres of influence. The extraordinary favor of God is resting upon us. All glory to His name!

While I doubt that this will bear much fruit in Canada, this is indicative of COP’s ambition. Great catch by Bruce Wilson.

Click here to see BTB\’s complete coverage of recent anti-gay developments in Uganda.