It's Not the Principle, It's the Prejudice
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Gay Couples Excluded from Immigration Bill Markup
How To Spot A Swivel-Eyed Loon
The Daily Agenda for Wednesday, May 22
House of Commons officially passes marriage equality
British Commons Approves Marriage Equality Bill
Email address of Attorney General prosecuting 18 year old Florida lesbian
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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Jason D
April 9th, 2010 | LINK
“My immediate answer was absolutely not; just as it’s none of the employer’s business to ask the applicant’s sexual orientation, the same principle should apply in reverse.”
Except that the power doesn’t flow equally in both directions, thus your reversal doesn’t make sense.
For example. a business can be sued for firing an employee for their sexuality……can a business sue an employee for leaving due to the sexuality of the owner/board president/supervisor?
A business can be sued because they refused to hire a black man because of his race…..can a business sue because a candidate refused to work due to the race of the employer/other employees?
No. We are absolutely free to leave any job at any time so long as there is not a contract involved.
An owner who outs him/herself is in many respects protecting him/herself from HR issues and the expense of hiring and training an employee who quits two days later.
Lindoro Almaviva
April 9th, 2010 | LINK
Well, let me tell the story from the opposite side:
Back in 2000 I was interviewing for a job is a Temp Agency and it seemed that it was going well, I sensed that i was going to get an offer. When the interview was abut over, the inevitable is there anything else you want to add? question came out and without thinking I said (This being an agency that staffed for industrial jobs, I expected it to be very homophobic): Yes, you need to know that i am gay and i will come to work as a gay man and will do my job as a gay man and if there is anyone in here who might have an issue with that, or if you have an issue with that, or if the company will have an issue with that, don’t bother calling me My future employer said Perfectly fine, i don’t have an issue with that, so we will get along beautifully. You’ll get a call from me soon
I worked for this company for 2 years and I am still in contact with this former boss who is now a good friend. I was one of the first calls get made when she got engaged.
Fastforward a couple of years and i was again in the job market. I was interviewing with the distribution center of one of the divisions of TJMAXX (TKMAXX, in Europe) and when the same questions was asked (again, this being a warehouse and I was expecting it to be a homophobic environment)I fired up the same answer. This time my future boss said: not a problem, our non discrimination policy, unlike the government, does include sexual orientation, so if anyone here gives you a hard time, please let us know so we can take care of that right away
I worked there for 5 years…
I do see a gray area and I think that sometimes it can be a good thing when you out yourself and sometimes probably not so good. I have made it a policy to out myself; I just tell prospective employers that I will not work for a company that puts a bigger emphasis on my personal life than in my job performance and that they could not pay me enough to deal with abusive people. Most of the time, I just get a nod and a I can understand that. Then, one of the first things i put on my desk is a pic of me with the hubby…
Candace
April 9th, 2010 | LINK
FYI….. the recent modest increase in hiring was due to hiring thousands and thousands of temporary Census workers. (Those jobs will last about 3 months, if that.) Last week there was an “unexpected” jump in Unemployment claims. Why? The first round of temporary Census workers have already been laid off for lack of work.
On the bright side, many wingnuts are refusing to send back their Census forms, thus there will be less Republican representation in Congress and perhaps the Administration will finally be able to do something to create real jobs for unemployed Americans.
Ben in Oakland
April 9th, 2010 | LINK
I think outing is ALWAYS a good idea. The closet is the enemy.
Back when my business was flourishing and I needed employees, that wiould always be the last thing I would discuss in the interview. I work at home, my husband is often around. I did not want to waste my time hiring someone who would not work out, nor owuld i wish to give my money to anyone who sees me as a fag before he sees me as another human bieng.
Richard Rush
April 9th, 2010 | LINK
My partner and I will soon be hiring a general contractor for a major renovation of our little house. I will be informing the potential bidders that we are a gay couple, although unless they are really dense, it should be obvious since the titles on the drawings and specification read,
“House Renovations for my-name and his-name.”
I realize a potential contractor may hide their anti-gay attitude in order to get the job in this bad economy, but as long as we inform them, there is not much else we can do.
While neither one of us generally make a point of informing people that we are gay, we don’t make special efforts to hide it either. Perhaps due to being older and thus growing up decades ago, we are not as forthcoming as young people seem to be today.
paul j stein
April 9th, 2010 | LINK
My spouse worked for a large interior furnishings distributor, BLANK&BLANK Interiors in Sandusky Ohio. This firm is owned by 2 Gay men. He was harassed by a straight guy calling him Faggot, Queer, Cocksucker. At the time he was living a straight lifestyle, and not ever dating men. The supervisor did NOTHING about it for months until his female co-worker stepped in and damn near killed the idiot. He was treated hospital with stress induced panic attacks.the next day I very clearly told the owners what was going on and still they kept the harasser employed and laid off my spouse. GAY owned is NO guarantee of proper actions in dealing with GAY hate crimes in the workplace.
Mike Camardelle
April 10th, 2010 | LINK
My partner and I present ourselves to other people just as we are, 2 men. We’re in the process of building a house and have grown to have a close relationship with our builder and his crew. While he has different views (Sarah Palin, Tea Party, etc) that have come up in conversations, he’s never acted differently towards us in anyway. I’ve confided in him that I hope our new neighborhood is as welcoming as the old, since there are children in the area. He’s confided in me wondering if some problems we initially had with the homeowners association and the architectural review committee were because we’re a gay couple. Everything has been on the up and up, and it’s no different in conversations anyone would have, unless they were trying to hide something. Even our planner, working closely with us for two months customizing our plans, has been just as warm and welcoming as anyone else could be, but again, we’ve been honest. I truly believe that whether you’re a business owner or a prospective hire, you have the right to represent yourself as who you truly are.
Note: We live in Mississippi.
Shannon
April 10th, 2010 | LINK
Personally I think that would make for a rather awkward interview. Well we’ll give you a call btw I’m gay/straight.
Which ever they said I would squirm, I mean what do I say “good for you, or thanks but that was too much information?” Plus anytime I’m getting interviewed I’m nervous, if I’m nervous I’m prone to awkward thoughts. I really, really don’t want to think of any potential employer in the sack with anyone of any gender.
Also do you continue up the ladder?
Example Statement: I’m straight, my boss is gay, her supervisor is straight, no one is sure about the executive manager, oh and the CEO is… etc. etc.
I suppose I can see the reasoning, after all seemingly nice people can become quite vicious if they turn out to be prejudiced against you for some reason.
I still think it’s awkward though, there are parts of everyone’s lives that overs might not “approve” of or simply don’t need to know. Do we have to start listing them off at every first meeting? Regardless of whether or not it should have any effect on them or their work?
Burr
April 11th, 2010 | LINK
Yeah I don’t think it’s a great idea unless it’s going to be an obvious consideration (i.e. lots of gay employees or customers). Otherwise better to feel out a prospective’s confidence with diversity in general. Anyone who can’t work with others for any stupid non-work related reason can take a hike.
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