Box Turtle Bulletin
News and commentary about the anti-gay lobby“Now you must raise your children up in a world where that union of man and box turtle is on the same legal footing as man and wife…”
News and commentary about the anti-gay lobbyJune 11th, 2012
Two days after leaving the AIDS/LifeCycle bubble of love, I force myself to click on NOM’s blog page, and you know what I find?
Same sh*t, different day.
NOM (and the rest of the anti-gay world) is crowing about a study on the awfulness of gay parenting. You can read more about that here and here and here. Let me focus on one distinct and familiar flaw: The study compares the children of married biological parents with those from broken homes — and the study’s “lesbian mothers” that our opponents are vilifying generally weren’t married to each other; nor were the gay fathers. No, they were often in opposite-sex relationships that broke down.
Our opponents’ reporting hasn’t focused on that. But I can easily imagine how how an unstable, dishonest mom/dad relationship would (a) be harmful to the kids, and (b) have nothing to do with same-sex parenting!
Now, you can combat this sort of thing with careful analysis. But the error is so common, so recurring, that I’ve put together a cartoon I now can just whip out when the need arises. Who knows, maybe this is the best way to make such an obvious and elementary point:
Feel free to post it where needed.
Latest Posts
Featured Reports
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.
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.
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.
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"
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
“Google” is a trademark of Google Inc.
© Box Turtle Bulletin. All Rights Reserved.
Posts 
Posts via daily email:
Jim Burroway
June 11th, 2012
Excellent!
Steve
June 11th, 2012
Here is more about how biased and HIGHLY political Regnerus is:
http://thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/1-nom-founder-and-mormon-church-behind-first-applause-of-new-anti-gay-parenting-study/politics/2012/06/10/41097
Kathryn Howie
June 11th, 2012
great cartoon – excellent – copied for use
mike/
June 11th, 2012
it is also insulting to single parents who have to raise kids alone; he takes care to not deal with that nor the possibility that a child may be having issues of abandonment, etc.
the thing is, these people write these ‘studies’ for people who they believe are not intelligent and use fear to tap into their reactions.
when those of us who have a background in research and point out inconsistencies they can then run & hide.
David C.
June 11th, 2012
When science is merely tchotchke science instead of plain junk science.
StraightGrandmother
June 11th, 2012
ROB it is sad that you can find this cartoon so easily on your computer. But I gotta say it is one awesome cartoon. I saved it.
StraightGrandmother
June 11th, 2012
Rob, Hope you don’t mind but I am going to send excellent cartoon out this out to a lot of people i know.
Palmer
June 11th, 2012
SMG,
Rob drew this cartoon.
Smith
June 11th, 2012
NOMBlog is not a news service and I don’t expect them to be honest or accurate. However, when ABC News or a blog on the NY Times website makes the same errors in covering this study, there needs to be a response.
I see that our crack media organization, GLAAD, is nowhere to be found. They should be getting in front of this story, insisting that editors not permit it to be spun as a study on “gay parenting” or as a comparison between similarly situated gay and straight families. Maybe GLAAD will get around to doing something by the time it is too late to matter.
Steve
June 11th, 2012
And the “study” is already being used by the so-called American College of Pediatricians in an amicus brief supporting DOMA:
http://www.prop8trialtracker.com/qh/amicus-briefs-in-support-of-blag-in-golinski-case/#idc-container
A.M.
June 12th, 2012
Are there similar studies on race of parents and outcome of child? I honestly don’t know.
But if there are though, would anyone try and use them to justify discriminatory laws for the public “good”? I just don’t think that would go over very well to say the least.
If there aren’t studies like that though, then we should not stand for it either.
Timothy Kincaid
June 12th, 2012
Ah yes. Another reminder of why we love Rob.
Jim brilliantly analyzes the study and lays out its flaws in layman terms. And Rob puts that analysis in one cartoon graphic. I’m surrounded by genius.
Ed Costello
June 12th, 2012
These groups will continue to do what they do best and that is to demonize anyone who is different. They will do this even if they have to make up a “scientific study” to agree with their views. As a free and open society they have a right to do this, however, most people will recognize it for what it is – pure propaganda designed to dehuminize LGBT individuals. We must fight this and bring the truth out to all – because “the truth will set you free!”
StraightGrandmother
June 12th, 2012
Rob, I used Google to search for every single news story on this research and I posted a response to every one. this is what I posted.
“Dr. Regenerus’s Respondents were raised in a MIXED ORIENTATION MARRIAGE (MOM), or a MIXED ORIENTATION SEXUAL RELATIONSHIP. A MOM is where one spouse is gay and one spouse is straight. That is who responded to this survey people who had parents in a MOM. Regnerus confirms that he found only a few Respondents who were raised in a straight up lesbian or straight up gay home. Here is part of his e-mail to me which he asked me to post.
[snip]”By the way, one of the key methodological criticisms circulating is that–basically–in a population-based sample, I haven’t really evaluated how the adult children of stably-intact coupled self-identified lesbians have fared. Right? Right. And I’m telling you that it cannot be feasibly accomplished. It is a methodological (practical) impossibility at present, for reasons I describe: they really didn’t exist in numbers that could be amply obtained *randomly*. It may well be a flaw–limitation, I think–but it is unavoidable. We maxxed Knowledge Networks’ ability, and no firm is positioned to do better. It would have cost untold millions of dollars, and still may not generate the number of cases needed for statistical analyses.[end snip] You can read the full e-mail exchange here-
http://www.boxturtlebulletin.com/2012/06/11/45557
We know that only 1/3 of Mixed Orientation Marriages attempt to stay together after disclosure and of that 1/3, only half manage to stay together for 3 years or more (and it goes really down hill after 7 years).
FWIW I agree with Dr. Regnerus Mixed Orientation Marriages (or Mixed Orientation Sexual Relationships) that produce children are VERY BAD for the children. And that is what his study proves. It does not attempt and does NOT assess the outcomes of children raised by 2 loving moms or 2 loving dads. It.Does.Not.”
This pic by Rob Tsinai describes this research perfectly. I know he will let you re-post it.
http://wakingupnow.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/quit-damning5.png
SharonB
June 12th, 2012
Is it possible this “study” has more relevance for ex-gay relationships than actual committed gay relationships?
Reed
June 12th, 2012
Great graphic image. And, given the recent “NOM two nooses” incident, I can’t help but wonder how soon it will be stolen and altered by NOM allies.
StraightGrandmother
June 12th, 2012
Hey Rob for the first time I got your pic to actually display in a comment.
Here- http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002800255#post1
I am on Google News and I am just keep refreshing for every single article that comes up with this research in it and I either post a comment or directly contact the author. I am determined that this will get nipped in the bud right away, before it goes out without and rebuttal. Thank GOD Jim worked his butt off on Saturday and posted this on Sunday. I got in touch with Regernus before the story was widely disseminated. If Jim wouldn’t have done that when he did Regernus no doubt today wouldn’t talk to me as he is swamped with requests for interviews. Thank God Jim got this out there right away which gave me that little space to communicate with Regernus before he was swamped.
Now that the story is out we have the TRUTH to immediately put out there.
Anyway I always include a link to your pic in every comment because I think that one pic says more than I can say in 1,000 words.
Leave A Comment