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 lobbyJuly 2nd, 2007
This morning Soulforce kicked off the Survivor Initiative with an action and press conference outside NARTH’s headquarters in Encino, CA (aka “The Valley”). Present were Paige Schilt, Shawn O’Donnell, Darlene Bogle, and myself. NARTH is officially headquartered at Dr. Nicolosi’s clinic in an office tower on Ventura Boulevard. We assembled on the sidewalk in front of the building entrance along with a news crew from the local Fox affiliate and about two dozen supportive community members. Formal statements were made and then Darlene and Shawn took collages representing our exgay journeys and delivered them to NARTH’s office on the 13th floor.
This event announces the beginning of the Survivor Initiative campaign which will continue through the month of July and highlight the stories of people affected by exgay programs.
Update: Video of today’s action has now been posted.
Hat tip James Mills for the photos.
June 28th, 2007
Yesterday this site reported on three former Exodus leaders who made a public apology to former clients of exgay programs. I attended that press conference (and helped accept the apology) but also shot video interviews with the three former leaders.
Strategically it has always been difficult to counter Exodus’ claims of change when they use the “I’ve changed and I’m living proof change is possible” argument. I believe these three interviews provide an answer to Exodus’ approach.
Michael Bussee:
Darlene Bogle:
Jeremy Marks:
I asked the same question of other ex-ex-gays at the press conference and those will be uploaded later
BTB Original Video Interview With Michael Bussee, Co-Founder Of Exodus
June 27th, 2007
Last September hundreds of gays and lesbians from around So Cal gathered in Palm Springs to speak out against Love Won Out. Included in those who came to Palm Springs was Michael Bussee one of the co-founders of Exodus who later left the ministry realizing it didn’t work. USC film student Esteban Rael pulled Bussee aside and shot a video interview with Michael for his upcoming masters thesis film me & god. Esteban and I have collaborated frequently on our respective projects/interests and he and Michael were both kind enough to let me publish nine clips from that interview here.
The first two videos below tell the story of what led to the founding of Exodus and Michael’s eventual shift to speaking out against exgay therapy. The remainder of the clips are on a variety of exgay issues.
The Creation of Exodus International
Two Of Exodus’ Founders Come Out As ‘Ex-Ex-Gay’
Gay Therapist On His Religious Clients’ Inner Conflict
“Exgay” Conversion Therapy For Gay Youth?
Am I Gay? Will God Change Me?
Growing Up – What The Culture Taught Me About Being Gay
Are ‘Gay’ and ‘Christian’ Incompatible?
A 12 Year Old Boy Struggles To Find Out What ‘Gay’ Means
“Exgay” Organizations Oppose Hate Crime Protections
June 26th, 2007
The Exodus Freedom Conference website has a “Things To Do” guide for the little free time conference attendees will enjoy. The #1 recommended beach…
The chain-commercialized (and thus safe) Huntington Beach, 18 miles away.
Conspicuously omitted is the gay hamlet of Laguna Beach which I might add is only 11 miles from Concordia University, where the conference is being held.
Luckily conference attendee Jim Burroway has a local (me) to set him straight and thus was enjoying Laguna mere hours after arriving. I might add the drag show at The Boom Boom Room on Wednesday nights is excellent.
June 24th, 2007
Myself and Momma
Timothy, myself and Peterson
Peterson Toscano had a show this morning at the WeHo Church which was followed by cocktails at The Abbey.
Thanks to Peterson for sharing his photos.
June 18th, 2007
Those of us in the reality-based community can point out the American Family Association’s lies about the hate crimes bill till we’re blue in the face but a new ally has joined the fray. Snopes.com, the site dedicated to busting rumors, scams and chain-emails that circulate on the internet has taken the AFA to task. The AFA’s claim the Hate Crimes Prevention Act will restrict freedom of speech is now in the company of emails promoting gas-outs and others claiming Bill Gates will pay you a million dollars if you forward an email.
And that’s exactly where the AFA’s emails belong. I’m glad other people are catching on.
June 1st, 2007
(Advertisement posted by Exodus Youth on MySpace)
Exodus has joined a coalition of various religious right groups in some sort of vague day of prayer for youth or possibly sexual purity for said youth. Their website isn’t very clear and doesn’t even give a formal name for the event or coalition.
Included in that coalition is Wellington Boone Ministries. Let’s review what Boone had to say at the Family Research Council’s “Liberty Sunday” (official transcript) last October.
We know what a family is. My wife said to me this morning, she said, “Well, okay then. It’s sodomites because they’re not gays; it’s a misnomer. They’re sodomites.”
…If God calls homosexuality an abomination, if he calls it vile affections, if he calls it wickedness, I can’t call it inappropriate behavior. (Applause.) So if this is just a small matter, I’ll tell you what — let two women go on an island and a whole bunch of – all women, if you’re sodomites, go on an island, stay by yourself, all women, put all the men on another island – this is my wife talking to me this morning – let them stay. I’ll tell you what: “We’ll come back and see you about 100 years.”
I say Exodus is partnering with Boone again because at “Liberty Sunday” Exodus president Alan Chambers was the second speaker following Boone.
May 31st, 2007
I have to say opening up my email and seeing that Peter “Porno Pete” LaBarbera attended this year’s “Mr. Leather” near his home in Chicago brought a smile to my face. Seeing Pete’s (now annual) report makes me feel all is right in the world.
Pete’s photo of supposedly offensive paddles made me question, if a little spanking is off limits in the bedroom then what exactly is allowed by AFT’s standards?
May 30th, 2007
Today’s podcast the final segment in my interview of Jim Burroway, a gay man who attended Love Won Out. Jim says of Nancy Heche’s presentation “She left them, at the end of her talk, praying for their children to change.” Jim also discusses Alan Chambers’ presentation in which Alan tells the audience “expect a life of denial.”
[audio:http://www.boxturtlebulletin.com/podcasts/07-0530.mp3]May 23rd, 2007
Daniel talks with Autumn (a trans contributor at Ex-Gay Watch) about the TVC’s and NARTH’s use of the derogatory term “shemale.” Most recently the TVC used the term in a political cartoon attacking the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, currently in Congress. Autumn notes the term is used almost exclusively in either pornography or by anti-gay/trans activists.
TVC cartoon
NARTH’s use of “shemale”
GoodAsYou.Org’s analysis of cartoon
May 22nd, 2007
Given how Focus on the Family bungled initially “reporting” on the APA’s announcement of the nomination process I can’t wait to see “coverage” of how committee members were finally selected. Here’s how committee members were actually selected:
Task Force members were selected after an open nominations process. All nominations were reviewed by the APA Committee on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Concerns (CLGBTC) which forwarded the complete list of nominations and a suggested slate of nominees to the APA Board for the Advancement of Psychology in the Public Interest (BAPPI) for review. The CLGBTC and BAPPI recommendations as well as the full list of nominations were then sent to the APA President who made the final appointments to the task force in consultation with the APA Board of Directors.
Here’s the list of committee members, all of whom appear to be gay-affirming:
Judith M. Glassgold, PsyD – Dr. Glassgold is a clinician, researcher and visiting faculty at the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology, Rutgers University. She sits on the editorial boards of Pragmatic Case Studies in Psychotherapy, Journal of Gay and Lesbian Psychotherapy and PsycCritiques. Much of her work focuses on ethical issues in psychotherapy including the interplay of psychology and religion. Dr. Glassgold will serve as the Task Force Chairperson.
Lee Beckstead, PhD – Dr. Beckstead is a counseling psychologist who has focused his research and clinical work on helping gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people with strong religious affiliations. He works full-time in private practice and is a staff associate in the University of Utah’s Counseling Center.
Jack Drescher, MD – Dr. Drescher is a psychiatrist in clinical practice. His academic appointments include that of Adjunct Clinical Assistant Professor in the New York University Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis and Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at New York Medical College. He also serves as the editor of the Journal of Gay and Lesbian Psychotherapy.
Beverly Greene, PhD – Dr. Greene is a Professor of Psychology at St. John’s University and a practicing clinical psychologist. She has published extensively in the psychological literature on multi-minority identities and the interplay between multiple identity status, coping with social marginalization and psychotherapy. She was a founding co-editor of the APA Division 44 series Psychological Perspectives on Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Issues.
Robin Lin Miller, PhD – Dr. Miller is a community psychologist and an associate professor at Michigan State University. She is currently the editor-in-chief of the American Journal of Evaluation. She was appointed to the Task Force to provide specific expertise in research and evaluation methods.
Roger L. Worthington, PhD – Dr. Worthington is the interim Chief Diversity Officer at the University of Missouri-Columbia and an Associate Professor in the university’s Department of Educational, School and Counseling Psychology. Dr. Worthington is on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education and on the editorial board of the Journal of Diversity in Higher Education. His research interests include multicultural counseling, heterosexual identity, sexual prejudice, and lesbian, gay and bisexual issues.
I can’t wait to see Focus get it’s panties in a bind over this.
May 16th, 2007
In today’s show Daniel examines some of the gay and ex-gay activist groups that sent out press releases today regarding the passing of Jerry Falwell as well as a clip of NPR asking tough questions of Paul Weyrich, a friend of Falwell.
[audio:http://www.boxturtlebulletin.com/podcasts/07-0516.mp3]NPR story
Falwell’s claim of millions of exgays
CNN’s interview last week
May 9th, 2007
Today’s podcast is a continuation of my interview with Jim Burroway who attended Love Won Out. Jim discusses “ex-lesbian” Melissa Fryrear’s talk and the shocking effect it had on parents who took her outrageous statements literally.
[audio:http://www.boxturtlebulletin.com/podcasts/07-0509.mp3]May 3rd, 2007
It’s Thursday night and here’s this week’s episode, a chat with Jim Burroway about his experience attending Love Won Out in Phoenix. This podcast is part I and focuses on Joseph Nicolosi’s speech.
[audio:http://www.boxturtlebulletin.com/podcasts/07-0503.mp3]May 1st, 2007
Hey this is Daniel, my first two ideas for guests fell through and then I had to work overtime on Tuesday night so I haven’t got a show ready just yet but check back in the next couple days when I’ll be putting up an interview with Jim Burroway who attended Love Won Out Phoenix to talk about his experience.
[audio:http://www.boxturtlebulletin.com/podcasts/07-0502.mp3]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.
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