Box Turtle Bulletin
News and commentary about the anti-gay lobby“Now you must raise your children up in a world where that union of man and box turtle is on the same legal footing as man and wife…”
News and commentary about the anti-gay lobbyApril 6th, 2010
In addition to being the world’s cruelest town, Fulton, MS, is the county seat of Itawamba County. Fulton has a population of about 4,000 and the county has about 22,800. In Fulton (and Itawamba County) there are:
(in order to be strictly accurate, I replaced “0 Christians who believe in treating others the way they want to be treated” with the above language)
Latest Posts
Featured Reports
In this original BTB Investigation, we unveil the tragic story of Kirk Murphy, a four-year-old boy who was treated for “cross-gender disturbance” in 1970 by a young grad student by the name of George Rekers. This story is a stark reminder that there are severe and damaging consequences when therapists try to ensure that boys will be boys.
When we first reported on three American anti-gay activists traveling to Kampala for a three-day conference, we had no idea that it would be the first report of a long string of events leading to a proposal to institute the death penalty for LGBT people. But that is exactly what happened. In this report, we review our collection of more than 500 posts to tell the story of one nation’s embrace of hatred toward gay people. This report will be updated continuously as events continue to unfold. Check here for the latest updates.
In 2005, the Southern Poverty Law Center wrote that “[Paul] Cameron’s ‘science’ echoes Nazi Germany.” What the SPLC didn”t know was Cameron doesn’t just “echo” Nazi Germany. He quoted extensively from one of the Final Solution’s architects. This puts his fascination with quarantines, mandatory tattoos, and extermination being a “plausible idea” in a whole new and deeply disturbing light.
On February 10, I attended an all-day “Love Won Out” ex-gay conference in Phoenix, put on by Focus on the Family and Exodus International. In this series of reports, I talk about what I learned there: the people who go to these conferences, the things that they hear, and what this all means for them, their families and for the rest of us.
Prologue: Why I Went To “Love Won Out”
Part 1: What’s Love Got To Do With It?
Part 2: Parents Struggle With “No Exceptions”
Part 3: A Whole New Dialect
Part 4: It Depends On How The Meaning of the Word "Change" Changes
Part 5: A Candid Explanation For "Change"
At last, the truth can now be told.
Using the same research methods employed by most anti-gay political pressure groups, we examine the statistics and the case studies that dispel many of the myths about heterosexuality. Download your copy today!
And don‘t miss our companion report, How To Write An Anti-Gay Tract In Fifteen Easy Steps.
Anti-gay activists often charge that gay men and women pose a threat to children. In this report, we explore the supposed connection between homosexuality and child sexual abuse, the conclusions reached by the most knowledgeable professionals in the field, and how anti-gay activists continue to ignore their findings. This has tremendous consequences, not just for gay men and women, but more importantly for the safety of all our children.
Anti-gay activists often cite the “Dutch Study” to claim that gay unions last only about 1½ years and that the these men have an average of eight additional partners per year outside of their steady relationship. In this report, we will take you step by step into the study to see whether the claims are true.
Tony Perkins’ Family Research Council submitted an Amicus Brief to the Maryland Court of Appeals as that court prepared to consider the issue of gay marriage. We examine just one small section of that brief to reveal the junk science and fraudulent claims of the Family “Research” Council.
The FBI’s annual Hate Crime Statistics aren’t as complete as they ought to be, and their report for 2004 was no exception. In fact, their most recent report has quite a few glaring holes. Holes big enough for Daniel Fetty to fall through.
“Google” is a trademark of Google Inc.
© Box Turtle Bulletin. All Rights Reserved.
Posts 
Posts via daily email:
David
April 6th, 2010
“0 Christians who believe in treating others the way they want to be treated”
Hold up there. There is a Quaker church, and the Society of Friends predominantly rejects anti-gay theology. Even in major cities, Quaker congregations tend to be small, so there is a better than fair chance that no Quakers were involved or party to this event.
And heck, maybe all of the people complicit in the nasty trick prom are masochists who want to be treated in the same way. ;)
Transplanted Lawyer
April 6th, 2010
A bridge too far, Tim. While I’m taking heat from my right flank for agreeing with you that what happened in Tupelo is morally indefensible, this isn’t about Christianity so much as it’s about just plain bigotry. For instance, we don’t know if McMillan, her father, her girlfriend, or her girlfriend’s family are Christians or not. We know that there are at least some Christians out there who accept homosexuals “just as God made them.” And truth be told, I haven’t seen very much “piety in defense of bigotry” in this case; rather, I’ve seen people confusing the legal right to hold a private party and exclude McMillan and date with the moral justifiability of doing so.
Candace
April 6th, 2010
It wasn’t a “party,” it was a PROM. You know, the one the school/parents hid while plotting up the “freak prom” to send Constance, her date, and some LD kids to? All done after the school promised the Judge why YES, even though we decided not to have the prom to keep out The Gay, we’re going to have ANOTHER prom, and of course Constance and her date are invited! Yup, yup, yup.
From what I saw in the pictures of the prom that were posted n their FB site, the behavior there was disgusting– their were photos of guys with thier hands up the back of girl’s dresses, lines of students grinding their pelvises into eac other, and pic after pic of bleary-eyed girls making out with each other. If I was the parent of one of the girls at the prom, photographed while being publically felt up by their date, I would literally crawl away in shame.
Does every person in the listed churches hate gay people? No. Did all of them know about the secret prom? No. Would all of them have approved? Most likely they wouldn’t. So feel free to scold Timothy for his horrendous fauz-paud of being over-zealous in reaction when another gay person has been discriminated against. Whatever. But don’t try to tell us they were at a “party.” We’re not that stupid.
Oh– and neither is the Judge, either. I seriously can’t wait till this gets to trial.
Transplanted Lawyer
April 6th, 2010
As my scolds go, Candace, that one was pretty mild.
But thanks for giving me heat on my left flank, too. Now I can feel like a real moderate again.
Candace
April 6th, 2010
& Thank you for assuming I’m “on the left.” (Did you mean something else by your “left flank” comment? If so, could you clarify it for me? Thanks.)
The truth is that you know absolutely nothing about me and are guilty of exactly the same thing you were just pointing fingers at Timothy over.
Tony P
April 6th, 2010
68 churches for 22,800 people comes out to 335 people per church.
Timothy Kincaid
April 6th, 2010
Transplanted Lawyer,
I’m not discussing what specific Christians believe about homosexuality. I’m talking about sending the “dyke” and the “retards” off to some bogus prom so that they didn’t have to deal with them.
Regardless of theological position on the Clobber Passages, there simply is no justifiable basis for treating them this way. I cannot imagine Jesus responding by sending the Samaritans, the lepers, the tax collectors, and the sinners to the “rejects prom”.
And I cannot imagine that there is anyone who wants to be treated that way. No one.
Yet, as best I can tell, there is absolutely not a single soul in that county, be it preacher, teacher, city leader, or caring neighbor who stepped in to treat these kids with decency.
This is not the argument “from the left”. This is the argument from the Scripture.
And this should have been the homily/sermon/message in every church on Easter Sunday. To date, I’ve yet to hear of even one single solitary church who thought it was even slightly, perhaps, maybe, not really completely the best thing to do, wink wink.
Believe me, the minute some church in Fulton wants to condemn that behavior, I’ll be the first to make it public.
I want to be wrong on this.
Richard Rush
April 6th, 2010
Transplanted Lawyer said, “. . . this isn’t about Christianity so much as it’s about just plain bigotry.”
If it’s anti-gay bigotry, then it’s ALL about Christianity. In the United States Christianity is virtually the entire driving force behind anti-gay bigotry. That wasn’t always the case. I grew up in the 1950’s/1960″s when such bigotry was endemic throughout society, so there was no driving force. Ministers were not preaching about the homos because they didn’t have to. Everyone agreed that homosexuality was an unspeakably vile disgusting perversion.
I would say that social acceptance has moved somewhat from the secular into the nominally religious and a little beyond, while the seriously religious remain as the organized driving force behind anti-gay bigotry today.
Tom in Lazybrook
April 6th, 2010
Hey guys, if you REALLY want to make the people in Fulton/Tupelo take notice and wet themselves….Here’s what you do.
Go after Toyota USA! Tupelo (Fulton is a suburb), which is also the home of the AFA and the Wildmons, landed a massive brand spanking new factory in town. They’re so proud of it.
But here’s the rub. With all the economic/brake problems at Toyota, the plant has remained completed and EMPTY for the last 2 years. This is a HUGE issue in Tupelo/Fulton.
Why not send Toyota USA a note and let them know that if they open that plant (in a community where Gays are NOT WELCOME) that we might just take our business elsewhere! Don’t buy cars built by bigots!. As a fallback, you might want to ask them for a committment to a PUBLIC Gay inclusiveness/training campaign in Tupelo, a ban on any association whatsoever with Itawamba Schools and charities in Itawamba, and a ban on partnerships with the vocational school in Itawamba.
Just a thought.
Muscat
April 6th, 2010
Some of the teachers and the principal supposedly served as chaperones for the “fake prom.” Do we have any evidence they knew about the other prom and were providing a sort of cover for it by trying to lend legitimacy to the fake one, or were they dupes?
David in Michigan
April 6th, 2010
(in order to be strictly accurate, I replaced “0 Christians who believe in treating others the way they want to be treated†with the above language)
It worked better the other way, I don’t understand why you need to compromise your writing in order to be strictly accurate here. This issue is significantly about religious views and clear intolerance and bigotry. Perhaps if a credible report was made by someone that did not include someone else’s religious beliefs in whatever way, I could try to believe there were a couple of people besides Constance’s parents in this town that are upset about this. To date, you’ve got a tiny town keeping their mouths wide SHUT, which, again to date, says quite a lot about the situation there.
Candace
April 6th, 2010
How far away is Wildmon’s American Bigot Association, like 25 miles from Fulton? These kids must have gotten homophobia in their mother’s milk. Living near the AFA and not becoming an ignorant TrOo christian ™ would be like living 5 miles from Berlin in 1940 and not becoming a Hitler Youth. It’s a wonder Constance managed to survive being immersed in so much stupidity and hatred and STILL thinks on her own.
I’m also waiting for a single area church– or parent– or school official– or teacher– to publically say the fake prom was wrong. 5 days and counting– I guess I’d better go get a Snicker’s bar, huh?
Michael
April 6th, 2010
I posted this elsewhere but will repeat it here. If you look at the profiles of the “secret prom” attendees, you’ll see the same page links popping up in all their profiles:
Greenville Christian School
The Charleston Baptist Congregation
Little Creek Baptist Church
“I’m Proud To Be Christian” by Aaron Chavez Religious Center
Prayer In School Religious Center
I Love Jesus Religious Center
Freedom Rally 2010 “A call to Revival”
Dedicated to Christ
Going to Church Religious Center
God is Love Religious Organization
Jesus Daily Religious Organization
I’m a Christian & I’m Proud Religious Organization
The Resolve Tour Religious Organization
ChristBuild Inc Religious Organization
Christ In Action Non-Profit
It seems that these self-righteous haters are very proud of their religious associations. Hope these organizations are proud of their members. If these organizations do not speak out on this topic, they are, without a doubt, morally bankrupt.
Jason D
April 7th, 2010
Michael,
so much for
“The golden rule”
“turning the other cheek”
and
“love your neighbor”
These folks wouldn’t know Christ if he fell on them.
DBW
April 7th, 2010
This girl had no business forcing her lifestyle upon this school, I applaud the school for canceling the prom. The parents of this school would not want their children to be exposed to this. It is time to put a stop to all this nonsense that has infiltrated our public schools.
John
April 7th, 2010
DBW: Repeal the 14th Amendment and then perhaps you’ll have a case, otherwise public schools are open to ALL Americans including gays. You don’t like it? TFB. That aside though, Itawamba certainly showed just how ‘Christian’ they were by sending the special needs kids and a couple of others to the “rejects” prom. Nicely done. Jesus would be proud. /sarc
ZRAinSWVA
April 7th, 2010
DBW: Based on your statement, she should have just stayed quietly in her little closet, kept her mouth shut, and reconciled herself to be being second class, right? Nice. What a kind and charitable person you are.
Sorry. The closet door is swinging open wider every day, and LGBTQ folks can finally stand tall and feel proud that they ARE someone of VALUE in our society. We are NOT second class, and we will fight by every means possible to secure our rights in our society.
What they did was WRONG!
Timothy (TRiG)
April 7th, 2010
Forcing her lifestyle
Do anti-equality people have minds at all? Do they ever think for themselves? They all sound exactly the same.
Lifestyle, indeed.
TRiG.
TampaZeke
April 7th, 2010
DBW, I heard the same EXACT same argument against integration of black and white kids in schools, and against interracial couples attending school events, when I was growing up in Mississippi in the 70’s.
One day, in the not too distant future, you will be remembered with the same disgust as we now remember anti-integration racists of the 50’s and 60’s.
Jason D
April 7th, 2010
“This girl had no business forcing her lifestyle upon this school,”
Constance, like many of her classmates wanted to wear a tux and bring her girlfriend to prom.
Where, exactly, is the force of lifestyle in that?
The only difference between Constance and other students who want to wear tuxes and bring their girlfriend to prom is that Constance is a girl.
If anyone was trying to force their lifestyle on anyone else it was certain school administrators. If Constance brought a male date and wore a dress, she would’ve been welcome — in other words if she had accepted the heterosexual lifestyle (or appearance of such) being FORCED upon her, she could come.
Get it straight (ha ha) the only people forcing a lifestyle on anyone in this country are certain neo-con christians who can’t just live and let live. DOMA is all about trying to force heterosexuality on gay people, as is DADT, as is fighting against gay equality.
But because she decided that she was equal, and deserved to wear a tux and bring her girlfriend to prom –just like many of her classmates — that somehow makes her the bully?
You’re blaming the victim, plain and simple. No, they didn’t have to “accept” Constance as a lesbian. But they also didn’t have to put roadblocks in her way. Roadblocks that were special to her, and not to other students.
“I applaud the school for canceling the prom. The parents of this school would not want their children to be exposed to this.”
Have you seen the pictures of the ghost prom? Constance would have to be having buck naked sex covered in blood on the dancefloor to outdo the “depravity” these so-called Christian students were up to at the real prom!
Lots of straight folks bumping and grinding and a few girls-gone-wild esque photos of “straight” girls making out.
Oh yeah, they’re sooo pure and innocent.
“It is time to put a stop to all this nonsense that has infiltrated our public schools.”
Absolutely, it’s time to put an end to all the hate and bigotry that has infiltrated the learning process. Nobody asked you for your permission to let gay people exist. We do. And we deserve to be treated equally just like all the other people in this country.
Becky in DC
April 7th, 2010
To be fair, most of us in the equality camp thought the issue had been taken care of when we saw the country club guy offer to host an alternative prom.
If you lived in Fulton but didn’t have a child at Itawamba, you probably thought so too. For congregations that tend to be small, older, and pro-equality (like the Quakers) it is very likely they weren’t in the loop.
It’s hardly fair to blame _everyone_ for something that was intentionally kept secret from everyone-who-might-have-objected.
Mike Camardelle
April 7th, 2010
Mohandas Gandhi – “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”
David
April 7th, 2010
[Ed: Comment removed. Not even remotely on topic]
Priya Lynn
April 7th, 2010
[Ed: Comment removed. Not on topic (though it was countering another off-topic comment)]
werdna
April 7th, 2010
[Ed: Comment removed. Not on topic (though it was correctly criticizing another comment for not being on topic)]
Burr
April 7th, 2010
Anyone who looks at someone else enjoying themselves and not harming anyone and twists it in their tiny little pea-brain into something that’s being FORCED on them has severe mental issues.
Jason D
April 7th, 2010
DBW, and everyone else.
Here’s some great photos of those upstanding, normal, hetero kids in Fulton.
http://lezgetreal.com/?p=30833
Yes, clearly a lesbian couple would’ve been too much for these little darlings to deal with!
Leave A Comment