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 lobbyApril 10th, 2008
Anti-gays often portray their attacks as being directed against a nebulous “homosexual agenda” or perhaps “the sin of homosexuality”. This is often packaged with a claim that they love individuals, or “the sinner”.
But sometimes their anti-gay activism reveals itself to be an obvious hateful attack on individuals.
For example, Tammy Baldwin has served as the representative for Wisconsin’s 2nd congressional district since 1999. And since that time Lauren Azar, her other half, has been accorded travel privileges on par with the spouses of other Congressmen. Although the House rules specify that spouses are given travel accomodations, the former House Speaker, Dennis Hastert (R-Ill), had waived the rules for Azar.
However, when Azar prepared to accompany Baldwin on a fact finding mission this year, the Pentagon blocked her from traveling on a military plane. The situation was resolved when current House Peaker Nancy Pelosi informed Defense Secretary Robert Gates that she was waiving the House rules to allow Azar to travel.
From the AP
The Pentagon still has in place its “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, which bars gays from serving openly in the military. But that had nothing to do with this case, said Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell.
“This is strictly about following our statutory guidelines and the House rules,” he said.
Morrell said that Pelosi asked Gates to honor her decision to waive House rules to allow Azar to travel and that Gates asked her to put that request in writing.
“She did so, and he — in this one case only — agreed to it,” Morrell said. “This is not a precedent by any means. This does not open the doors for life partners to travel on congressional delegations.” But Gates has agreed to review future requests on a case-by-case basis, Morrell said.
Now most living breathing people see this as a simple act of decency. Most folks would think it odd to insist that Baldwin be the sole Congressman to travel alone.
However, Elaine Donnelly and the AFA spin it differently
Elaine Donnelly of the Center for Military Readiness calls this situation “a slippery slope.” “This sets a disturbing precedent because it tends to suggest that marriage doesn’t matter, [and that] marriage of people of same-sex or any such association should be treated as the equivalent of marriage,” she contends.
Donnelly believes this gives ammunition to those who want to change the military’s policy of not allowing homosexuals in the military. “This is an incremental step forward for the gay rights agenda,” she continues. “These things are all interconnected. This radical social change doesn’t always happen overnight with a court ruling. Sometimes it comes creeping along incrementally.”
This is a single instance of a consideration granted to an associate in Congress. Donnelly’s concerns about a “slippery slope” ring hollow when compared to the assurances of the Pentagon.
So why, then, does Donnelly find Azur’s travel so objectionable? Why would she complain that Azur should not be granted passage?
Simply, because Baldwin and Azur are gay.
By her attack on the travel of a specific individual, Elaine Donnelly discredits any presumption of principled objection and reveals her agenda and herself to be petty, spiteful, and cruel.
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:
pupster
April 10th, 2008
The AFA and their abnormally intense interest in the sexual lives of others is extremely disturbing. If you look around on their website, you won’t find much about family, but you’ll find PLENTY about gays and the so-called “gay agenda”.
William
April 10th, 2008
But Elaine Donnelly is right: it IS a slippery slope, because it implies that other considerations may actually be more important than, and so may be allowed to take precedence over, homophobia. And where is that going to lead us? Once people start thinking like that, it could even lead to an end to the shameful waste of resources and of taxpayers’ money involved in discharging perfectly competent and well-qualified personnel from the military just because they happen to be gay/lesbian. Heavens above!
Jason D
April 10th, 2008
Anti gay Person 1: Geeze we’ve got to stop this, it just isn’t right!
Anti gay Person 2: I know, pretty soon they’ll be equal to us! Then how else will I make myself feel special??
SharonB
April 10th, 2008
Comparatively this is nothing.
When they go to court to take kids away from LGBT parents, or deny them visitation, now that’s being personally cruel.
Alex
April 10th, 2008
If the gov’t wasn’t in the social business at all i.e. “legal” marriage this wouldn’t even be an issue. The whole argument for or against is stupid. I wish the gov’t would leave me totally alone I can handle my personal and legal relationships just fine on my own as can any normal human being.
David
April 10th, 2008
I wish the gov’t would leave me totally alone I can handle my personal and legal relationships just fine on my own
Alex, you can handle your personal relationships on your own, but where legal relationship are concerned the government is of necessity involved.
zoe kentucky
April 13th, 2008
Wonderful circular logic they have working there– they claim that this sets a precedent that somehow disrespects marriage while they simultaneously support forbidding people who would LIKE to marry to do so because it would undermine marriage.
Meanwhile what do they believe gay people should do ultimately? They often say that we have the right to marry– just not each other. Carrying that to its logical conclusion is that gay men and lesbians should marry each other! Because that would add great strength to the institution of marriage and wouldn’t undermine its purpose or meaning at all.
Leave A Comment