The Daily Agenda for Sunday, May 26
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!
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.
Terry T
September 30th, 2011 | LINK
Sorry Gingrich, bigotry is the aberration.
Blake
September 30th, 2011 | LINK
Wow. That is a stunning window into the mind of an opponent. He appears to be saying that he is so sure of his convictions that something which stands opposed to them will eventually collapse under its own inertia. Clearly he possesses not one teensy bit of empathy for our cause and illustrates exactly why Conservatism is a dead-end philosophy.
Rob Lll
September 30th, 2011 | LINK
“An aberration that will dissipate”? Sounds more like Newt is talking about one of his own marriages. What’s he on now — his third? Fourth?
Rob Lll
September 30th, 2011 | LINK
Oops, sorry. Didn’t see the end of the post.
I do have a question though. Why does anyone still listen to this man? Does he still have some credibility with conservative voters?
Lindoro Almaviva
September 30th, 2011 | LINK
Sorry, but at least one of his marriages did not dissipate from under him; that description is more suitable for his wife, given how Mr G was down with adultery while at the same time demanding the president’s head for the same offense.
Charles
September 30th, 2011 | LINK
I wonder if he consulted his gay sister before he made this statement …….. I would say no.
Charles
September 30th, 2011 | LINK
“Wow. That is a stunning window into the mind of an opponent. He appears to be saying that he is so sure of his convictions that something which stands opposed to them will eventually collapse under its own inertia. Clearly he possesses not one teensy bit of empathy for our cause and illustrates exactly why Conservatism is a dead-end philosophy.” – Blake
Gays can get married right now. The fact is that the “government” will not recognize the marriage. I am a fiscal conservative and tend to believe in the loosely defined Tea Party principles. Government is too darn big. Do we really need the stamp of approval of government on gay marriages?
Sir Andrew
September 30th, 2011 | LINK
I agree with him: Marriage is between a man and a woman. But it’s ALSO between a man and a man and a woman and a woman. Every time someone says that man/woman thing, they are trying to plant the idea that gay guys or lesbians getting married is going to eliminate the marriages that are between opposite genders. It is one of the more dishonest arguments they come up with.
And agreeing with Rob: Yes, why IS anyone still listening to this idiot? He is a presidential candidate in his mind only; there’s not a single political pundit who is taking his candidacy seriously. His entire senior campaign staff has walked out. His contributors have asked for their money back. I can’t believe he is still a blib on the polls. He needs to back his bigotry in his old kit bag and hie on home.
Timothy Kincaid
September 30th, 2011 | LINK
Charles,
I can sympathize with you thinking except for two things:
If the government gives its stamp of approval to my brothers marriage but not to mine solely because as a hetero he married a woman and as a gay man my spouse would also be male, then we are talking about rewarding heterosexual people for being heterosexual and disadvantaging homosexual people for being homosexual. And that, my friend, is about far from “small Government” as you can get.
Second: yes, we do need the stamp of approval of the govt. That’s what stores, hospitals, neighbors, car salesmen, and “free vacation” hawkers use to recognize who is and who is not married. It’s also what is needed to be sure your sweet lovely caring and committed other-half stays sweet loving caring and committed when the cute young thing starts batting his eyelashes.
Christopher
September 30th, 2011 | LINK
He obviously doesn’t know history.
CPT_Doom
September 30th, 2011 | LINK
So Mr. Gingrich wants to elevate the homewrecker who broke up his second marriage (the one t the homewrecker who broke up his first marriage) to the position of “First Lady” of the land and he has the gall to criticize same-sex couples? I guess cojones that large could explain why any woman would want to sleep with this putz.
Charles
October 1st, 2011 | LINK
Timothy, I think that the Supreme Court is going to make gay marriage recognized by the government. In the meantime there is no need to stop any gay couple from getting married and honoring their vows.
MJC
October 1st, 2011 | LINK
…and he uses the word ‘fundamentally’ in every statement he makes. How is it that people consider him ‘intellectual’? I guess compared to what you’re used to, he might ‘sound edumacated’. In fact, he is a gasbag of Jovian proportions. And in the European cathedrals, I can show you the graves of church-blessed same sex couples. You aren’t ‘conserving’ anything, Newt, other than hatred, bigotry, and undeserved power.
Priya Lynn
October 1st, 2011 | LINK
MJC said “And in the European cathedrals, I can show you the graves of church-blessed same sex couples.”.
MJC, I came across that on the internet several years ago but have been unable to find it since. Could you please email me a link to that at priya dot lynn at sasktel dot net
San Diego Rob
October 2nd, 2011 | LINK
I believe he divorced one of his wives while she was dying on her death bed from cancer, way to go Newt!
cd
October 2nd, 2011 | LINK
I learned from Sherwood Anderson’s “Winesburg, Ohio” that one should not argue with an old man about his dreams.
In ten years gay marriage will be legal in most or all of the country. I’m going to enjoy watching DOMA and all those mini-DOMAs dissipate, weird aberrations that they are.
Donny D.
October 2nd, 2011 | LINK
What a goofy thing to say. Gingrich must see that the fight for gay marriage isn’t going to go away.
PLAINTOM
October 2nd, 2011 | LINK
Newt is on his third marriage and second religion but has the egotism to state equal rights are a temporary aberration. History will not judge him kindly. He reminds me of previous Southern politicians proudly proclaiming, ” Segregation today, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever”
David
October 2nd, 2011 | LINK
This kind of shortsighted miscalculation is not uncommon among fundamentalist conservatives, who vastly overestimate how much the rest of the nation aligns with their own conservative beliefs.
This statement by Gingrich is oddly reminiscent of George Wallace’s infamous “segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever”.
We see how that turned out. In the end, even Wallace himself admitted he was wrong.
Jim Hlavac
October 2nd, 2011 | LINK
Is the man obtuse? NY just OK’d our marriages — yes, Newt, the gay marriage issue will dissipate when folks like stop trying to prevent it and condemn. As for history, I suggest he pick up a copy of John Boswell’s “Same Sex Unions in Pre-modern Europe” — indeed, Boswell showed that there wasn’t even a law against gay sex anywhere in Europe until the late 1300s. And there are dozens of rites one could use to solemnize same-sex unions, and many invoke Sts. Serge and Bacchus — who were quite the happy Christian couple, martyred for who they were – wow, a Catholic saints gay couple; how so opposite to what this philander believes.
Richard Rush
October 3rd, 2011 | LINK
Is there any aspect of Newt Gingrich that is not sleazy?
Jonathan Justice
October 3rd, 2011 | LINK
It strikes me that Newt is the aberration that will will fade in a couple of decades. That connects rather strongly with the statistical norms for human life. He has plenty to answer for, so it is unsurprising that such a self-important person would project his own demise outward on other people and events.
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