The Daily Agenda for Sunday, May 19
French President Hollande Signs Marriage Bill
The Daily Agenda for Saturday, May 18
Fox News Ignores Marriage Equality Wins
The Era of Civil Unions Is Coming To An End
Orthodox Priests Lead Violent Attack On LGBT Rights Rally in Tbilisi, Georgia
France's Marriage Equality Bill Clears Final Hurdle
The Daily Agenda for Friday, May 17
Featured Reports
What Are Little Boys Made Of?
In this original BTB Investigation, we unveil the tragic story of Kirk Murphy, a four-year-old boy who was treated for “cross-gender disturbance” in 1970 by a young grad student by the name of George Rekers. This story is a stark reminder that there are severe and damaging consequences when therapists try to ensure that boys will be boys.
Slouching Towards Kampala: Uganda’s Deadly Embrace of Hate
When we first reported on three American anti-gay activists traveling to Kampala for a three-day conference, we had no idea that it would be the first report of a long string of events leading to a proposal to institute the death penalty for LGBT people. But that is exactly what happened. In this report, we review our collection of more than 500 posts to tell the story of one nation’s embrace of hatred toward gay people. This report will be updated continuously as events continue to unfold. Check here for the latest updates.
David Benkof: Behind the Mask
At first glance, David Benkof appears to be a young gay man who believes that same-sex marriage will damage the institution of marriage, that there are better options for gay couples than marriage, that the community should join him in prioritizing other more pressing issues, and that the marriage discussion is harming the efforts of gay couples in red states to get recognition for their unions. He also claims that he’s a gay columnist, that he speaks for an influential collection of gay thinkers, and that he is part of the gay and lesbian community and that he shares our goals and dreams. But none of that is true.
“Repeat After Me”: The Reparative Therapy Echo Chamber
The April 2008 edition of the pay-to-publish vanity journal Psychological Reports featured a new report from NARTH. Written by NARTH president A. Dean Byrd, past president Joseph Nicolosi, and Richard W. Potts, the report carries the unwieldy but self-descriptive title, “Clients perceptions of how reorientation therapy and self-help can promote changes in sexual orientation.” While the title describes what the authors meant to show — how clients describe the benefits of reparative therapy — the report itself actually illustrates something very different: the ex-gay movement’s remarkable ability to instill an almost robot-like parroting of ex-gay rhetoric among their clients.
Testing the Premise: Is MRSA The New Gay Plague?
The Toronto Star said that a new study “discover[ed] a new strain” of a super-bug “hitting gay men.” Headlines in Britain screamed, “Flesh-eating bug strikes San Francisco’s gay community,” and anti-gay extremists across America spread the alarm that gays were introducing another plague into “the general population.” But there was a small problem with all of this: None of it is true!
Paul Cameron’s World
In 2005, the Southern Poverty Law Center wrote that “[Paul] Cameron’s ‘science’ echoes Nazi Germany.” What the SPLC didn”t know was Cameron doesn’t just “echo” Nazi Germany. He quoted extensively from one of the Final Solution’s architects. This puts his fascination with quarantines, mandatory tattoos, and extermination being a “plausible idea” in a whole new and deeply disturbing light.
From the Inside: Focus on the Family’s “Love Won Out”
On February 10, I attended an all-day “Love Won Out” ex-gay conference in Phoenix, put on by Focus on the Family and Exodus International. In this series of reports, I talk about what I learned there: the people who go to these conferences, the things that they hear, and what this all means for them, their families and for the rest of us.
Prologue: Why I Went To “Love Won Out”
Part 1: What’s Love Got To Do With It?
Part 2: Parents Struggle With “No Exceptions”
Part 3: A Whole New Dialect
Part 4: It Depends On How The Meaning of the Word "Change" Changes
Part 5: A Candid Explanation For "Change"
The Heterosexual Agenda: Exposing The Myths
At last, the truth can now be told.
Using the same research methods employed by most anti-gay political pressure groups, we examine the statistics and the case studies that dispel many of the myths about heterosexuality. Download your copy today!
And don't miss our companion report, How To Write An Anti-Gay Tract In Fifteen Easy Steps.
Testing The Premise: Are Gays A Threat To Our Children?
Anti-gay activists often charge that gay men and women pose a threat to children. In this report, we explore the supposed connection between homosexuality and child sexual abuse, the conclusions reached by the most knowledgeable professionals in the field, and how anti-gay activists continue to ignore their findings. This has tremendous consequences, not just for gay men and women, but more importantly for the safety of all our children.
Straight From The Source: What the “Dutch Study” Really Says About Gay Couples
Anti-gay activists often cite the “Dutch Study” to claim that gay unions last only about 1½ years and that the these men have an average of eight additional partners per year outside of their steady relationship. In this report, we will take you step by step into the study to see whether the claims are true.
The FRC’s Briefs Are Showing
Tony Perkins’ Family Research Council submitted an Amicus Brief to the Maryland Court of Appeals as that court prepared to consider the issue of gay marriage. We examine just one small section of that brief to reveal the junk science and fraudulent claims of the Family “Research” Council.
Review: The Gay Report
When Karla Jay and Allan Young published The Gay Report in 1979, it quickly a favorite source of statistics for many anti-gay extremists. But before you accepts these statistic at face value, you should examine the inner workings of this survey very carefully. What you learn might surprise you.
Daniel Fetty Doesn’t Count
The FBI’s annual Hate Crime Statistics aren’t as complete as they ought to be, and their report for 2004 was no exception. In fact, their most recent report has quite a few glaring holes. Holes big enough for Daniel Fetty to fall through.
News, analysis and fact-checking of anti-gay rhetoric
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Everett
April 5th, 2010 | LINK
Could someone please explain to me why this issue is that important when one considers there are other issues like employment and housing discrimination, marriage/civil unions, DADT, etc. to worry about in the gay civil rights movement? This issue only affects gay men and its not as if its a quality of life issue for gay men like marriage rights or job discrimination. Yes, I understand the message of stigma that the ban on donating blood sends, but I, for one, have never once considered donating blood, and still would not even if this ban were lifted. There are still plenty of people out there who are able to donate blood, if there is a blood supply shortage, an awareness campaign can fix it.
So again, I’m not quite sure why this is such an important issue. If anything, this is such a small issue, that if the Democrats do something about it, it’ll be like them throwing the glbt community a bone (even though it only affects gay men like the HIV travel ban primarily affect gay men) and prevents the Democrats from having to accomplish REAL legislative victories on behalf of the whole glbt community.
Burr
April 5th, 2010 | LINK
Nobody is saying it’s important as a civil rights issue (and really there is no civil right to donate blood), but should we just ignore it altogether? The fact is that ALL blood banking organizations want to see it gone, and it has nothing to do with political correctness. The blood supply is nearly always teetering near shortage. Not enough people give blood and every expansion of the potential donor pool is huge. The policy is costing blood banks valuable drives at colleges and other institutions..
andrew
April 6th, 2010 | LINK
On a more fundamental level, it’s important because for generations, gays have been institutionally labelled as either criminal, dirty / disease-ridden, or both. In order to achieve our goals like gay marriage, DADT, etc., this institutional slander has to be cast down.
The Texas ruling a few years ago overturned gay-targted sodomy laws. These lawas allowed our opponents to rely on the fact that gays were engaged in criminal activity — something that was used to justify discrimination in housing and employment.
In light of the current healthcare debate, you can be sure that much has been made of the perils of gay sex. And we can argue the merits of that argument with facts.
But in the meantime, our opponents can bumpersticker it to an easy shorthand:
“Gays are so dirty, the CDC and the Red Cross won’t even take their blood. In fact, just having sex with a man once is enough to taint you for life.”
With respected organizations like those handing arguments like that to our opponents, it’s much harder to make our case on the larger fronts like employment, insurance, marriage, DADT, etc.
And that’s why it matters.
The Golem
April 6th, 2010 | LINK
Given the improved meds for HIV and the much lower mortality rates resulting from infection, it may be time for the medical community to reconsider whether transfusion from a possibly infected donor is the worst option available.
occono
April 6th, 2010 | LINK
Everett: I don’t think there’s really been that much focus on this at all. It’s only been more of a hot topic recently because of a sudden push for repeal, but the rule hasn’t been nearly discussed as much as Marriage Equality or DADT….
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