Arizona group to put marriage back on ballot
Exodus International Issues Apology, Hints At Further Developments Tonight
Ex-Gay Leader Sentenced For Criminal Sexual Assault of Male Clients
Andrew Comiskey Doesn't Believe In Apologies
Murkowski makes three
Massachusetts GOP Senate Candidate goes to Pride
The Daily Agenda for Wednesday, June 19
Another Exodus Conference Is Upon Us. Let's Review.
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.
michael
May 24th, 2012 | LINK
A+ post Timothy, well done
TampaZeke
May 24th, 2012 | LINK
You have to wonder how he could have influenced the North Carolina vote had he come out for marriage a few weeks earlier and not the day after the vote.
I don’t think he could have changed the end result because it was a Republican primary after all.
I don’t think the impact of his support, and the official support of the NAACP, can be overestimated.
charlie
May 24th, 2012 | LINK
I listened to that pompous ass from Focus on the Family on CNN today. He completely misrepresented research on raising children and kept saying voters have never approved same sex marriage. We’ll never get him to stop telling lies about the research but I really hope this fall ends his ability to say voters have never approved of gay marriage.
Ryan
May 24th, 2012 | LINK
I agree with Timothy. This is incredibly unexpected. So much so, that I don’t quite trust it. Let’s wait a few months and see where we’re at with the average black voter.
Jonathan
May 25th, 2012 | LINK
One of the most impressive things about this president is his ability to build a coalition. Remember the surge of anger and flat-out racism after Prop 8, when polls showed how strongly the black community had opposed marriage equality? Now, in North Carolina, average support within that community is HIGHER than it is for whites.
Imagine what happens if this sticks, and we start thinking of one another as more natural allies. People talk about the political advantages for Obama, but the most enduring effects may be the grassroots strength that comes from that mutual cooperation.
CPT_Doom
May 25th, 2012 | LINK
It certainly is great to hear these poll results, but we really don’t know how people will vote in a place like MD and that will tell us whether this change is real. I think it is entirely possible that both the Obama and NAACP announcements didn’t specifically change people’s views on the matter, but rather made is more socially unacceptable to voice anti-gay sentiments. That alone would be a huge change, however, and would eventually lead to real change in views, but at some point in the future.
Priya Lynn
May 25th, 2012 | LINK
Yes, CPT_Doom, I find it hard to believe this huge shift in the polling amongst blacks is real, I’m thinking its much more likely this is a statistical fluke.
Stefan
May 25th, 2012 | LINK
A statistical fluke shown across the board in multiple polls in different states from different sources? I highly doubt it.
Priya Lynn
May 25th, 2012 | LINK
I didn’t realize that was the case Stefan, I thought it was just one poll. Hopefully its a real and robust change.
Timothy Kincaid
May 25th, 2012 | LINK
I haven’t been able to confirm whether or not it is multi-poll. The PPP references an ABC poll, but the detail I saw didn’t report by race (perhaps PPP has better access). There may be other polling which also confirms the shift in black vote but I haven’t had time to review or verify it.
I’m currently in the optimistic and hopeful but still a little skeptical category. I want to believe it, but I don’t want to jump the gun.
Mark F.
May 25th, 2012 | LINK
Yes, such a huge shift in such a short time does seem suspicious. But there is no question the trends are strongly in our favor.
StraightGrandmother
May 25th, 2012 | LINK
I believe it. Black people know discrimination. When their President came out and supported Civil Marriage for Sexual Minorities that was the affirmation they needed that their inner thoughts were true. Of all people, black Americans know Discrimination when they see it.
Mark F.
May 26th, 2012 | LINK
I’m thinking that NC may be the last anti-gay vote in the United States.
Leave A Comment