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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Rachel H
July 20th, 2011 | LINK
If US newspapers are anything like UK newspapers, this news will be reported as “gay couples persecute good-hearted hoteliers”.
Oh, and someone will probably have their voicemail hacked.
gar
July 20th, 2011 | LINK
In Vermont? Really?
TampaZeke
July 20th, 2011 | LINK
Though I believe such discrimination should be illegal and I applaud this action, I can’t for the life of me understand why so many gay people are so determined to give their money to people who hate them and will probably turn around and donate all or part of that gay money to anti-gay organizations.
My advice, which when combined with $3.50 will buy you a cup of coffee at Starbucks: Win the case and then take your hard earned pink dollars to a business, family or individual who actually likes you and supports you and the rest of the gay community.
andrew
July 20th, 2011 | LINK
No, sue them *and* take your business elsewhere. Put their names and faces in every newspaper and make sure their reputations stick.
BlackDog
July 20th, 2011 | LINK
Hmmm, I thought the objective of any business was to serve the customer and make a profit by doing so. I wasn’t aware that gay people’s money was somehow less than straight people’s money, either.
All I can say is, those hotel owners should be penalized as much for poor service as for discrimination. They serve the customer, not the other way around, and until they get that figured out they deserve to have a reputation for crappy service.
I for one don’t know of any small business in this economy that can AFFORD to discriminate against its customers and I hope these idiots lose their ass not only for bigotry but for pure stupidity. Maybe then they’ll think “Well maybe I shouldn’t of done that.”
WildBigotInn
July 20th, 2011 | LINK
Jim, the owner, response to a previous charge of bigotry on TripAdvisor. The classic, “I have gay friends” claim.
“Bigots, also no Wifi”
Reviewed April 4, 2011 We went for a romantic weekend getaway. The location is breathtaking and the rooms were fine. The local mountain biking is awesome. However, the service at the Wildflow Inn was just awful. The staff were cold and unfriendly to us and seemed homophobic. They advertise “wifi available in room.” This is a complete lie. The signal was so weak, we were never able to use it. When we asked to use it in the main house, the staff were less than accommodating. Also, the Juniper Restaurant refused to give us the “anniversary special” because we are two women.
Boo! Don’t stay here if you are queer or support those who are. These people are bigots.
JimAtWildflowerInn, Owner at Wildflower Inn, responded to this review
April 14, 2011 Wow, how do I respond to a review like this? Bigots, homophobic – far from it. We have a number of friends that are homosexual, we have many guests that are homosexual and we’ve employed homosexuals. So that statement is totally untrue. I have never seen any of our staff treat any guest differently because of their sexual preference.
As for the anniversary dinner, I’m not sure what this guest’s experience was as it was in September and this review was posted in April. I’m not sure what the 7 month delay in this person’s posting is all about.. Let me say that the “anniversary” dinner that we offered was not for the guests anniversary, but was in celebration of the inn being 25 years old. It was a fixed price menu for $25 and was available Monday-Thursday nights. Everybody and anybody could get this menu as long as it was Monday-Thursday.
As for the WIFI, yes, we did have problems with it last Fall. We are in a rural area and we had equipment issues that took weeks to resolve. It has since been fixed and we do have WIFI in all the rooms again.
I do want to make a point in saying that we do treat all guests the same. If you read our other reviews you will see that we strive to give everyone the best possible experience. It is obvious that we did not meet that goal with this guest and I just wish I had had some input when they were here, or at least immediately after their stay so I could have rectified their dissatisfaction.
Thank you, Jim O’Reilly, Innkeeper and owner since 1985.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g57311-d82608-r102762662-Wildflower_Inn-Lyndonville_Northeast_Kingdom_Vermont.html#CHECK_RATES_CONT
Timothy Kincaid
July 20th, 2011 | LINK
Zeke,
Good point. And if the hoteliers were wise they would have said, “I disapprove of gay marriage and would rather not have your reception here. But as I cannot refuse you service based on your orientation, I will be donating 100% of your fee to NOM.” Problem solved. They can stay homophobes and equality supporters can take their business elsewhere.
Timothy Kincaid
July 20th, 2011 | LINK
I just love it when they say, “We have a number of friends that are homosexual.”
No. You don’t.
Really. I don’t know you and I still know that you don’t have gay friends.
Because if you had even one gay person with whom you had a close enough relationship to be called “friend”, you would know that gay folks prefer to be called gay rather than homosexual and that we talk about orientation rather than preference.
Ben In Oakland
July 20th, 2011 | LINK
I caught that H’homosexual” gaffe as well.
Meanwhile, as poleasing as it might be to sue, I think that time and energy owuld be better spent going elsehwer,e and PUBLICIZING the homobigots.
The answer to bad speech is more speech.
Regan DuCasse
July 20th, 2011 | LINK
Why don’t these people PUT UP A SIGN, or a disclaimer stating who they will and won’t serve?
How are gay people supposed to know, otherwise? These hoteliers take a deposit, then when the couples shows up with not a lot of other options, then they get sucker punched when they arrive.
The problem with these people and their rejections, is if it’s religious there are OTHER people who meet their criteria. Who they would have to ASK to find out. But they could STILL post a sign that informs anyone else who they will serve and who they won’t.
They might invoke their 1st amendment rights to post such signs, but the marketplace could decide which actually works.
They deserve to be sued because they don’t give FAIR WARNING.
But we all know why they don’t, right?
ZRAinSWVA
July 21st, 2011 | LINK
Regan DuCasse, you’re probably right: they should post a sign so we can avoid patronizing their business. It still gives me shivers to think about, though. “NO HOMOSEXUALS ALLOWED”. Bad kharma, that.
My husband and I love B&B’s, and we always ask up front if they have a problem with same sex couples. If they do, we take our business elsewhere. It would be great if we didn’t have to do so, but I’d rather have a pleasant visit than to feel this lurking cloud of disapproval hovering over us.
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