The Daily Agenda for Saturday, May 25
The Daily Agenda for Friday, May 24
Boy Scouts of America Votes To Allow Gay Members, Retains Ban On Gay Leaders
Nevada House votes to reverse marriage ban
The Daily Agenda for Thursday, May 23
It's Not the Principle, It's the Prejudice
Congratulations Mitch!
Gay Couples Excluded from Immigration Bill Markup
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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Pomo
June 2nd, 2010 | LINK
Why is that “backhanded justification”? What is wrong with his reasoning? He voted the way you wanted, he went against his party, and he is concerned about people taking taxpayer money and then not completing what they signed up for. That sounds just fine to me. He has fiscally conservative reasons for voting for DADT repeal. Thats great.
But since he’s not casting the vote with your reasons in mind, its backhanded and puzzling…
Transplanted Lawyer
June 2nd, 2010 | LINK
I’m with Pomo. An ally in a fight is in that fight for reasons of his own, and it’s important to understand what those reasons are for down the road — but that does not in any way change his status as an ally. Djou is an ally in this fight and he should be thanked for his support, not criticized for his lack of ideological purity.
Jim Burroway
June 2nd, 2010 | LINK
Is anyone aware of a single case where someone absconded with taxpayer bonus money? I’m not, especially considering that people who are discharged under DADT are routinely billed for signing bonuses, expenses for training, etc. His vote for DADT’s repeal is admirable, but that doesn’t change the fact that his reason for doing so is a slur.
And face it, if Obama had slurred LGBT people in the same way in arguing for DADT’s repeal, everyone would be justifiably howling for his head.
Progress comes when the slurs end.
Michael
June 2nd, 2010 | LINK
“they suddenly claim they are gay with no prior indication at all of that whatsoever”
That doesn’t sound like a slur against LGBT people – rather a slur against hypothetical individuals who play gay to get out of their contracts. I can’t say whether that ever actually happens, but if DADT facilitates such a waste of tax payers money, then that’s one more reason it should be repealed.
Timothy Kincaid
June 2nd, 2010 | LINK
It sounds to me like Djou is objecting to folks claiming to be gay in order to avoid being mobilized.
Setting aside the bonus issue, I am pretty confident that there are some gay folk who suddenly found the urge to be honest when they found that they were going to be deployed. And this was probably even more likely in the reserves when they first were sent (prior to the latest conflict, most folks assumed that the reserves would never see combat).
I don’t find it at all unlikely that Djou experienced someone who came out to avoid being sent to Iraq, though he may be mistaken about keeping the signing bonus. And I’m sure we all oppose such abuses.
Secondly, it sounds a bit to me like he thinks that straight folk are using this as an excuse: “they suddenly claim they are gay with no prior indication at all of that whatsoever”. I’m not so convinced that happens with any frequency, but it is another possible abuse.
From my perspective, “Gay people shouldn’t be able to use that as an excuse to get out of fulfilling their duty” is not my first motivation for opposing DADT, but I don’t see it as a slur.
Priya Lynn
June 2nd, 2010 | LINK
I wonder if he didn’t come up with this reason because he thought it’d be more acceptable to homophobes.
AJD
June 2nd, 2010 | LINK
Pomo/Transplant: This “ally” also supports gay marriage bans and opposes civil unions. Let’s not pretend he’s our friend just because he’s willing to throw us a bone or two.
L. Junius Brutus
June 2nd, 2010 | LINK
A bone or two is better than nothing at all.
AJD
June 2nd, 2010 | LINK
True, but I still think we should be cautious about him…
Jason D
June 2nd, 2010 | LINK
Timothy, I know of at least one straight person from college who got out of the service when he was tired of it by claiming he was gay. I’m not sure about the details beyond that, we’re not exactly pals for other reasons.
Burr
June 2nd, 2010 | LINK
I don’t know if it’s a slur, but he really makes it sound like he doesn’t think there really are gays in the military or certainly doesn’t seem to be concerned at all about how they are treated. It’s a non-issue to him is what I pick up, and he’s positioned himself as someone with more “pragmatic” concerns while everyone else wrings their hands over the gays. I mean really.. that’s the ONLY reason?
And as Jim mentioned it’s kind of bunk since I doubt many get to keep that bonus.
Timothy Kincaid
June 2nd, 2010 | LINK
Djou’s comments before his election don’t add too much clarity as to his reasons, but they do show that his vote was predictable
Jimmy LaSalva met with him and says that “Congressman Djou also supports providing domestic-partner benefits to federal employees, supports domestic-partner tax equity, supports the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, and opposes efforts to amend the U.S. Constitution with a discriminatory anti-gay-marriage provision.”
I hope we don’t make an enemy out of Congressman Djou without giving him more than two weeks in office.
Jose Soto
June 2nd, 2010 | LINK
Tim, though you may not like what he said, the situation he explained is not only probable but unavoidable. DADT does not address conduct, but rather IDENTITY. So what would stop a soldier from claiming to be gay just so he can avoid combat and keep the money?
Steve
June 3rd, 2010 | LINK
Long after DADT is gone, it will be fascinating to see the historical record revealed.
We’ve heard first-person accounts of expensive, invasive investigations of service members suspected of being gay, never mind their deeply closeted lives. In such cases, it’s sounded like cost was never an issue, no stone would be left unturned, in pursuit of evidence.
If it also turns out that the same investigations were seldom or never launched after people self-identified as gay, that will be a fascinating detail.
In all of the narratives I’ve seen related to DADT, none have focused on folks who were hetero-married. By Djou’s account, a long-married man could who was bisexual, and had an extended gay relationship in college, followed by decades of marital monogamy, would be bounced out with no questions asked. Is that really the case?
And, have sham marriages been an effective dodge for DADT investigations, or has the military pursued immigration-style investigations to validate marriages? Discharges have been disproportionately levied among women and people of color, as I recall, but is that related to married guys, after being exposed as having sex with guys on the side, being given a pass?
With 13,000 discharges, DADT must have outed at least a few people to unsuspecting spouses. Those stories could be understandably difficult and painful to tell… maybe they will be slow to emerge.
Lou Ruiz
June 3rd, 2010 | LINK
Further proof that heterosexuals can and will abuse any system despite who ever rights they step on.
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