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
Gay Man's Murder Sparks Massive Rally
The Daily Agenda for Tuesday, May 21
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
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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.
tim
July 5th, 2011 | LINK
Well – we already know who some of the donors are:
http://minnesotaindependent.com/83305/anti-gay-marriage-constitutional-amendment-donors
Mike
July 6th, 2011 | LINK
NOM wants “special rights”.
james
July 6th, 2011 | LINK
30 years ago, a business/corporate donor supporting a GLBT cause would have wanted his/her donation to be kept secret to avoid the stigma of being associated with such a cause. They might have found a way to make the donation through a third party. The GLBT community would have taken some steps to shield such donors. Of course, disclosure laws weren’t what they are today.
As Edna Turnblad would say, “The times — they are a-changin’”
Arthur
July 6th, 2011 | LINK
Since NOM is a religious organization they will always claim to be above the law. The separation of church and state only is in effect when it is to their advantage…Much like the Republicans say they are for States Rights but for DOMA, abortion, etc.
james
July 6th, 2011 | LINK
@Arthur: NOM is not a religious organization. NOM is a 501(c)(4) organization under IRS tax-exempt categories. Religious organizations are 501(c)(3). They may be religiously motivated, and may imagine themselves to be church-like, but they would not fit the IRS definition of a religious organization.
jpeckjr
July 6th, 2011 | LINK
The “chilling effect on free speech” argument is the only one NOM and MFC can make in public. It also supports their whole “be afraid of the gays” approach.
I bet the real reason they’re fighting disclosure is that disclosure would expose they are dependent on a small number of large donors. They are trying to convince everyone they have widespread support. Finding out they don’t, that they are dependent on a handful of big donors, would undermine the “our movement is growing” message. The truth would hurt them, so it must be suppressed.
cd
July 6th, 2011 | LINK
Much as Minnesota matters in its particular fashion, in the end the ban will probably pass narrowly with between 52% and 55% given the current electorate. Unfortunately.
Maybe the thing to do is to get NOM and whatever Mormon front group gets created into the worst possible position on this in California. Repeal of Prop. 8 is the priority for 2012, I’m quite sure.
That list of known donors so far linked in tim’s post is sort of interesting. They’re older white men who own businesses. The major one is a fervent religionist whose business is part of the Middle American religion-industrial complex. The others sound a bit more like the self-closeted gay anti-gay thang is going on in at least one case. Which seem typical profiles and motivations on that side of things.
Paul
July 6th, 2011 | LINK
I’ve been puzzled for quite a while. We hear of NOM losing case after case. Yet donor lists don’t appear on gay blogs (and I’m sure if the lists were made public they would appear on many blogs). Why haven’t we seen those lists?
Thanks, Tim, for noting that NOM has simply been ignoring those court losses. That explains the missing lists. Could you expand more on why that is happening — and what we might do about it? Can you at least list the cases they’ve lost and ignored?
Timothy (TRiG)
July 7th, 2011 | LINK
In these straitened times, one would think the state would have a positive interest in fining these people for contempt of court.
TRiG.
Theo
July 7th, 2011 | LINK
I don’t agree with the conclusion of this post. I don’t believe that NOM has simply thumbed its nose at any state’s disclosure requirements. Instead, it has filed lawsuits challenging those disclosure requirements, while enjoying the benefit of delay that results while the legal process grinds forward. For example, NOM has tied up Maine’s investigation for nearly 2 years. The investigation is slowly making progress, but NOM likely will file another suit in state court if it is ordered to disclose its donor list. Eventually, though, NOM will run out of delaying tricks and the donors will be disclosed.
Even assuming that Kincaid’s post is right and NOM simply refuses to disclose in MN, then a voter could request the information from NOM and, upon being denied, could file suit against NOM seeking a court order compelling NOM’s compliance with the law. There wouldn’t be any need to wait for a MN agency to act.
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