Box Turtle Bulletin

Coming Out Mormon

Marriages Recognized in D.C.

As of last midnight, residents and visitors to Washington D.C. are just a bit more equal. Those same-sex couples who married in any of the states (and, presumably, countries) in which it is legal now have their marriages recognized by the District.

Our heartfelt Congratulations!!

Perhaps the most interesting thing about this action by the City Council is that it received almost no attention by Congress.

In contrast to the city’s Domestic Partnership law, which was denied implementation from 1992 to 2002, opposition to the marriage recognition bill was assigned to Jason Chaffetz, a freshman congressman from Utah. Chaffetz spoke to the press a few times and promptly went back to whatever else he was doing. A bill by drafted by US Reps. Jim Jordan, (R – OH) and Dan Boren (D – OK) to define marriage in the District as between one man and one women gathered the support of 33 Congressmen, about 8% of the members.

This is particularly fascinating in that the out-of-state recognition bill was enacted as a trial balloon to test the will of Congress. Councilman Catania is expected to present a bill to legalize marriage in the Capital in the fall.

NARTH Publishes Fake “Study” In A Fake “Journal”

Focus On the Family has issued a breathless article claiming that a “new study” has proven that sexual orientation can be changed:

A new report in this month’s issue of the peer-reviewed Journal of Human Sexuality finds that sexual orientation can be changed — and that psychological care for individuals with unwanted same-sex attractions is generally beneficial and that research has not found significant risk of harm.

The study, conducted by the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH), examined more than 100 years of professional and scientific literature from 600-plus studies and reports from clinicians, researchers and former clients principally published in professional and peer-reviewed journals.

The problem with all that? Well first of all, this isn’t a study at all. It doesn’t consist of an experiment with study participants, methodology,  measurements, analysis or results. Instead, according to this so-called journal — which I have a copy of — NARTH mined nearly 100 years of research on attempts to change sexual orientation. Of course, the vast majority of those studies were done when aversion therapy was commonly practiced, when many people sought therapy because they were convicted of homosexual offenses before Lawrence v. Texas to avoid jail, when few clinicians bothered to do any kind of follow-up, and when the APA still considered homosexuality a mental illness. Much of this paper is an updated regurgitation of several other articles already posted on NARTH’s web site.

Also, the so-called “peer reviewed” journal is not actually a journal. The Journal of Human Sexuality is actually a booklet published by NARTH themselves. In fact, it’s structured more like a book than a journal, with only one article whose title matches the title on the front cover. This journal is billed as “volume 1,” and was, according to its acknowledgment, conceived back when Joseph Nicolosi was still president at NARTH. At this rate, I would expect volume 2 to show up sometime in 2011.

This is very similar to another stunt pulled by George A. Rekers in 1996.  He too created a one-off journal, also called The Journal of Human Sexuality which seems never to have made it to a second volume. It looks like NARTH decided to recycle Rekers old idea.

And as for this new journal’s “peer reviewed” status? Well, I guess when you have a paper written by an anti-gay activist posing as a therapist, and you send that paper off to other anti-gay activists posing as therapists, all of whom are members of your tight little NARTH club with no possibility of an actual independent review taking place, then maybe I would have to concede that the effort was “peer reviewed.” Unfortunately, that’s not the definition accepted by the scientific community.

This publication is not a dispassionate study of changes in sexual orientation. It is a cannon-blast of anti-gay animus in a long 94-page screed, a veritable anti-gay propaganda omnibus touching on all sorts of unrelated subjects including HIV/AIDS, alcohol and drug abuse, violence, psychiatric disorders, and “promiscuity as the new social norm.” As far as anti-gay propaganda goes, there’s little that’s missing here.

Anyone can write a “journal” and select the studies to prove their point as I illustrated in my satire, “The Heterosexual Agenda: Exposing the Myths.” (Hey, I had my partner read it before I published it; that must mean it’s peer-reviewed!) A quick look at NARTH’s “journal” shows that they pulled the same tactics as I did when I wrote my satire. Unfortunately, they didn’t intend for their publication to be read for satirical purposes. They are pushing it as legitimate science, and others are likely to be taken in by it.

Over the next several months — it is, after all, 94 pages of text — we will be going into greater detail to show just what a fraud this so-called journal really is. Stay tuned.

Britian’s Gays Go Conservative

The Tories, the conservative party in the UK, have decided that you can be conservative and pro-gay at the same time. And over the past few years they’ve made a concerted effort to change the image of their party, promote gay MPs into positions of leadership, and just last week apologized for a 1988-2003 law that banned the “promotion” of homosexuality or teaching of its “accepability”.

“I’m sorry for Section 28. We got it wrong. It was an emotional issue. We’ve got to move on and we have moved on,” [Conservative Leader David Cameron] said.

He insisted that under his leadership the party was embracing gay rights and predicted it would produce Britain’s first gay prime minister.

The Conservatives even found that “pro-family” can be a policy of support for relationships, both gay and straight, instead of a code word for exclusion.

When David Cameron used his first conference speech as party leader to talk about the importance of marriage, he added that the commitment was as important for gay couples as for those who are straight. The conference audience applauded. From that moment, any doubt that the Conservative party was changing its attitude towards gay people should have been dispelled.

And it’s working. An op-ed in The Guardian reports

A reputable new poll has found that 38% of gay men intend to vote Conservative at the next election – more than any other party, and a swing away from Labour of 14.2%.

There are still remnants of homophobia in the party, and Liberals indignantly warn that this is just a ruse, an appeal for votes that has no substance.

But whether this is just a cynical deception or a sincere change of heart, it is definitely a win-win for gays and for the Tories. For the first time, UK gays have both major parties competing for their votes. And the Tories benefit by appearing more tolerant and modern – and by winning a larger share of the “pink vote.”

Someone send a memo to the Republican Party.

Sean Kennedy’s Murderer is Free

Remember Sean Kennedy?

On May 16, 2007, Steven Moller shouted anti-gay epithets at Sean Kennedy and then attacked him. Moller then called a friend of Kennedy and left this message:

Hey. (laughter) Whoa stop. (laughter) Hey, I was just wondering how your boyfriend\’s feeling right about now. (laughter) (??) knocked the f— out. (laughter). The f—— faggot. He ought to never stick his mother-f—— nose (??) Where are you going? Just a minute. (laughter). Yea boy, your boy is knocked out, man. The mother——. Tell him he owes me $500.00 for breaking my god— hand on his teeth that f—— bitch”

Kennedy died. And in June 2008 South Carolina’s judicial system decided that five years, reduced to three, minus seven months for time served was adequate punishment.

Now, after a reduced sentence for getting his GED, Mohler is free. His life goes on. His debt is paid. And I’m sure his hand healed nicely.

As for Sean Kennedy? Yeah, Sean is still dead.

I’m sure there’s a parable to this story, but right now I’m too nauseous to think of it.

Maryland Gov. May Support Out-of-State Marriage

In May, Maryland State Senator Richard Madaleno asked the Attorney General to determine whether Maryland can recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states. Now it appears that Gov. Martin O’Malley may be receptive of the idea.

O’Malley has long opposed marriage equality, but on Sunday he expressed support both for out-of-state marriages and for civil unions. (wtop.com)

“I think that it’s very difficult to deny equal rights to people when it comes to rights that are disbursed by a government rather than a faith or a church,” O’Malley said Monday on WTOP’s Ask the Governor Program. “If the person has these rights under another state, I think we’re sort of pressed to deny those rights. So, yes, we probably should respect those rights.”

“I believe that if we were to have civil unions, there would be no question about whether or not we would recognize unions in other states. And that’s the way to move forward.”

Should the fear of out-of-state marriages lead to in-state civil unions, that would indeed be a step in the right direction for this astonishingly reluctant state.

See also:
Maryland Gov. May Support Out-of-State Marriage
Maryland to Recognize Same-Sex Marriages?
Blade Asks What Happened In Maryland
Maryland Passes Limited Rights for Gay Couples
Maryland Balances Budget by Taxing Gay Widows
Maryland Senator Muse Champions Bigotry
Maryland AG Endorses Marriage Equality
Maryland Legislator Calls Anti-Gay Bluff
Maryland Introduces Bill to Legalize Same-Sex Marriage – Are Democrats Committed to Equality?
Maryland Marriage Poll

Black Gay Men, AIDS, and No Community Support

Alvin McEwen found an article about Black gay men and AIDS hitting really close to the gut. He posted his reaction on his blog. It’s a perspective we never talk about. I’m re-posting it with his permission. — Jim Burroway

AIDS is killing off black gay men and lack of LGBT community support may an unfortunate factor:

Black gay men have less choice when it comes to sexual partners than other groups and, as a result, their sexual networks are closely knit. These tightly interconnected networks make the rapid spread of HIV more likely. In a study looking at social and sexual mixing between ethnic groups in men who have sex with men, H. Fisher Raymond and Willi McFarland, from the San Francisco Department of Public Health in the US, show that social barriers faced by Black gay men may have a serious impact on their health and well-being.

. . . Black gay men are the least preferred of sexual partners by other races. Black men are perceived to be riskier to have sex with, which can lead to men of other races avoiding Black men as sexual partners. They are also perceived as less welcome in the common social venues of gay men in San Francisco. As a result, Black men are three times more likely to have sexual partners that are also Black, than would be expected by chance alone.

In the authors\’ view, the combination of attitudes on the part of non-Black gay men, friendships and social networks that are less likely to include Blacks, and the environments found in gay venues serve to separate Black gay men from other groups.

So the personal ad phrase “no fats, no olds, no fems, no blacks” is now taking on sinister proportions. It’s not that I’m passing judgment on people’s personal dating choices. But it does go farther than that. The LGBT community can sometimes be consumed with the gay ghetto clique mentality. And as you can see, it’s killing those who are generally not allowed to be in the “clique.”

But hey, at least the black community supports us . . . when we seem to be at death’s door. That’s when folks make these lovely speeches about “it’s not just a gay disease,” and “let’s not stop until we find a cure.”

I got an idea – how about giving us a little support while we are healthy. How about not isolating us or making our lives seem dirty by using the word “lifestyle” like it’s a pooper scooper.

So both the LGBT and black community have work to do. I can only hope the work gets done before too many LGBTs of color suffer.

Moscow Protest By LGBT Advocates Called Off

Russian gay activists have cancelled a planned July 7 protest in Moscow which was intended to coincide with a visit by President Barack Obama. Moscow authorities banned the protest in front of the U.S. Embassy, but that’s not why organizers called it off. Organizer Nikolai Alekseev cited increased security and safety fears as factors:

He said: “In the context of another unlawful ban by the authorities on a public event as well as the special measures taken in the Russian capital during the visit by U.S. President Barack Obama, we have decided to cancel the event due to concerns over the safety of our members.”

Moscow had banned an earlier Pride march that was set to coincide with the Eurovision Song Contest taking place in Moscow in May. That peaceful Pride march went ahead, but was quickly broken up within minutes by riot police.

Sports Figure Latest Victim Of Ugandan Anti-Gay Offensive

Embattled football coach Charles Ayiekoh (The Observer)

Uganda’s ongoing campaign of very public anti-gay vigilantism has taken some very unexpected turns lately. It has already engulfed several prominent prosperity-gospel preachers who have taken to accusing each other of homosexuality in what has degenerated into a circular firing squad. Now the latest victims include sports figures.

Ugandan newspapers have been reporting on several rumors of homosexuality in the ranks of Uganda’s professional football (soccer) league. The Federation of Uganda Football Association (FUFA) vows to root it out:

The coaches\’ association vice chairman Stone Kyambadde yesterday told the FUFA-PostBank weekly press conference that the move will limit coaches from actions that will bring the game into disrepute. “We are going to address that (sodomy) in the code of conduct. The problem is that we had not registered all coaches across the country. We have since got regional representatives to do that,” said Kyambadde.

The accusations have already claimed one victim. Horizon Coach Charles Ayiekoh was suspended after an accusation by a player. It’s unclear whether the accusation has any merit. Ayiekoh, who is married with three children, denies the charges and blames the whole episode on “football politics.” He was released from the police station in Lira, but was ordered to appear at a police station in Kampala on July 8. Uganda criminalizes homosexual acts with up to life imprisonment.

FUFA promises that more suspensions are on the way:

Kyambadde added that their association had stepped up in its efforts to get rid of all the other gay suspects that have since been known in the local football circles. “We intend to get rid of the entire group and I can assure you that as coaches we come up with a comprehensive plan to wipe out the deadly vice,” he added.

Those “football politics” threaten to ensnare another prominent coach with what’s described as a moral dilemma. A Scottish national, Bobby Williamson, is now head coach of the Ugandan national football team. He, along with all the other football coaches in Uganda, is required to sign a code of conduct which “denounces any support or involvement in sodomy related acts”. Williamson has denounced discrimination in the past, but appears ambivalent about the latest anti-gay actions by FUFA:

Sodomy is a criminal offence over there but this is the first I’ve heard of any code of conduct,” he said. “Until FUFA speak to me about that it’s a hypothetical matter and I’ll reserve my views until I’m approached.

“What I will say is that you have to abide by the law of the land in whichever country you happen to be working in.

“There has been a lot of talk about homosexuality in the game in Uganda and I’ve heard stories, but I’m not aware of any evidence of it. What I do know is that most politicians and football officials seem to be strongly against it.”

FUFA’s actions may run afoul of Soccer’s highest international governing body, Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). According to the Scotsman, FIFA’s policies call for inclusion. The Scotsman reports that FUFA could be expelled from the international body if it continues with this plan.

Last week, it was announced that a new law would be debated in Uganda’s Parliament to ban free speech and public advocacy for LGBT people. The latest convulsion of anti-gay agitation in Uganda began with a three-day anti-gay conference in Kampala last March featuring American Holocaust revisionist Scott Lively and Exodus board member Don Schmierer.

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

Did DADT Kill August Provost?

Seaman August Provost, in a photo posted to his Myspace page.

Questions remain over the murder of Seaman August Provost who was shot wile standing sentry duty sometime overnight Tuesday at Camp Pendleton Marince Corp Base. His body was found at the end of his shift at around 3:30 a.m. Wednesday morning. It had been burned in an apparent attempt to conceal evidence.

Hus aunt, Rose Roy, of Beaumont, Texas, told CNN on Friday that Provost told her that he was being arassed because of his sexual orientation and race:

He was frustrated by it,” she said. She said she had advised him to speak to someone of higher rank, but said she wasn’t sure if he had done so.

“He went to serve and protect, but he didn’t get the protection,” she said. Brown said Thursday that he had no information on claims of harassment.

Asked whether she believed her nephew was killed because of race and sexual orientation, she said, “In my heart, I do.” She added, “it was like an execution-style killing, and nobody does that unless you have that kind of hatred in your heart.”

It’s unclear that Provost reported the harassment to higher-ups. Doing so would have revealed his sexual orientation to his superiors, which may trigger an investigation under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Such an investigation would then have led to Provost’s dismissal from the Navy.

Rep. Bob Filner (D-Chula Vista) has already asked the Department of Defense and the Marine Corps to investigate whether the killing at Camp Pendleton was a hate crime. So far, the Navy, which is leading the investigation, says they have no evidence that Provost’s murder was a hate crime. The Navy has one sailor in custody who “has been linked to the commission of this crime through both physical evidence and his own statement,” according to Navy spokesman Capt. Matt Brown.

A candlelight vigil is planned to honor Provost in front of Camp Pendleton this Friday, July 10 from 7:30 to 9:00 p.m.

Chad Gibson Calls For Prosecutions

Chad Gibson (WFAA-TV)

Chad Gibson, the patron who was severely injured during the June 28 raid on the Rainbow Lounge, spoke to a Dallas ABC affiliate yesterday and called for prosecutions of those who injured him.

Gibson was released Saturday after a spending week at John Peter Smith Hospital in Ft. Worth, suffering from bleeding in the brain. There is still a blood clot in his brain, behind his right eye. “I’m scared that something might happen,” Gibson said. “It might start bleeding.”

Gibson spoke to WFAA-TV yesterday, called the action by the city of Ft. Worth a cover-up. He’s particularly angry that the Ft. Worth police department used the blame-the-victim tactic in defending their actions:

Gibson said the city and officers have pointed the blame in the wrong direction.

“They have blamed it on me, that I was drunk [and] that I hit my head,” he said. “I groped the officer. I did this. I did that.  You know what, no … Accept responsibility.”

Gibson said he is also frustrated at the city pointing the blame at the TABC.

“Even if the Fort Worth Police didn’t touch me, they watched it,” he said. “They watched other people do that to me.”

Gibson denies groping the police officer. Several eyewitnesses at the bar that night say they didn’t see anyone make any sexual movements toward police officers. Police also say that Gibson received his injuries because he was so drunk when they arrested him that he fell. Gibson told a Dallas CBS affiliate that his doctors don’t buy it:

“A lot of the doctors I’ve talked to say you can’t get this kind of blow to the head from just falling, if I had just fallen like they said I did.”

Gibson is as surprised as anyone about the exercize of police brutality which took place at the bar:

?I was at the bar buying drinks for my friends and I. The next thing I remember is waking up in the ICU,” Gibson said. “I’m just appalled that they took it to the level that they did.”

…”It shouldn’t have happened to me and it shouldn’t happen to anyone else.”

Meanwhile, local activists protested for the second Sunday in a row, this time at Ft. Worth’s Sundance Square. Another protest is scheduled for next Sunday in front of the county court house.

An Unequal Flag For Unequal Citizens

This six star “Flag of Equal Marriage” represents the six states which have marriage equality, by order of their entry into the Union. The stars are arranged according to the order in which each state was admitted to the union, skipping over the states that do not have marriage equality. The six stars represent:

• Connecticut – #5.
• Massachusetts – #6.
• New Hampshire – #9 (Effective Jan 1, 2010)
• Vermont – #14 (Effective Sep 1, 2009)
• Maine – #23 (Effective of Sep 14, 2009)
• Iowa – #29

If this flag had been around in 2008, we would have seen California’ star (#31) go dark. There’s a move on right now to darken Maine’s star in November.

[Hat tip: David Schmader]

Joint Chiefs Chair: Repealing DADT Would Impact “Our People And Their Families”

Now this is getting ridiculous. First, we had former Secretary of State Colin Powell say that repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” would result in “lots of complicated issues” without mentioning what those complicated issues might be. Now we have Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, tell CNN that repealing the ban on gays serving in the military would somehow affect their families as well:

“I haven’t done any kind of extensive review. And what I feel most obligated about is to make sure I tell the president, you know, my — give the president my best advice, should this law change, on the impact on our people and their families at these very challenging times,” he said.

What, are we showering with their families now? I had no idea I was such a threat whenever I shower at the gym. My powers truly know no bounds.

Paul Cameron Gets Punked In Bruno

Okay, now I definitely have to see Sacha Baron Cohen’s new movie, Bruno:

One didn’t even know he was in the film until The Post phoned.

Victim: Dr. Paul Cameron, chairman of the Family Research Institute, Colorado.

Scene: Bruno comes to him for advice on going straight.

“I did a German thing a year ago. Is that this? I wondered what had happened to that. I’m in this bloody film? Well, I’ll be jiggered. I guess you never can believe when people are in distress.

“I had to go to Kansas City. I was told that this chap was a homosexual in Germany, had a popular TV program in Germany, was perhaps suicidal and wanted to [become straight]. And I was supposed to see if I could help him in some way.

His producer was telling people what to do. He’d say, ‘Here’s the setting. This will be your office. He’ll come in, give him the kinds of advice that will be useful for him.’ It took about two and a half, three hours. To put it mildly, a few of his questions seemed strange. When he tried to sit by me and he wanted to give me a b – – w job, that kind of stuff pushed it.

If it’s a gag, it was pretty well staged. I’ll be another laughing stock. Oh, well.”

It won’t be the first time.

[Hat tip: Warren Throckmorton]

Not All Beauty Queens Are Anti-Gay

Meet Celina Jaitley. She was Miss India in 2001 and became a Miss Universe runner-up that same year. She has since become a successful Bollywood actress. She also blogs for the Times of India, where she’s become a fierce advocate for LGBT rights.

I became a part of the world of glamour at the very young age of 16. And not only since then, but somehow from childhood I have had gay friends and have been a part of their agonies and ecstasies . It\’s horrid… just like apartheid when your very existence is a crime and you are discriminated against just because of what you are.

Celina describes herself as “a straight woman with a whole lotta balls.” She also says, “If you don’t believe in gay relationships, don’t get into one.” I think I’m becoming a huge Celina fan.