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 lobbyDecember 3rd, 2008
GLAAD has released a new survey by Harris Interactive that shows increased support for a number of the gay community’s goals:
One thing that I found fascinating is that issues of homosexuality are sharply dividing Mainline Christians from Evangelical Christians. In all questions, Mainline Christians were gay-favorable and Evangelicals were among the least favorable.
This was particularly evident on issues that were in traditional areas of Christian activism (pre-Religious Right). For example, on the ENDA question, Mainline was the most supportive of all demographics while Evangelical was the least.
As the issues surrounding sexual orientation become more instilled in the war over religious dominance in the culture, a possible positive side effect could be that the non-religious come to see this as a sectarian battle and opt out of anti-gay efforts.
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:
David C.
December 3rd, 2008
One of the principal divisions between Mainline and Evangelical Christian sects is a literal reading of the Bible. Mainline Christians tend to treat the bible as more allegorical and historical. Evangelicals really do believe that the Bible “is inerrant. It was without error in all of its claims about the nature of the world and the nature of God”. This difference is actually profound in its implications.
Here is a link to a short article that explains some of the differences fairly directly but without deep analysis.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/jesus/evangelicals/evmain.html
I think this gives us a clue as to where we should look in faith communities for allies in the struggle for gay freedoms.
Timothy Kincaid
December 4th, 2008
David C.,
It also illustrates for us that many of the “leaders” of our community are out of touch.
We have natural allies in those churches who, for religious reasons, are completely dedicated to bringing about equality. They support gay rights not just because it’s a good liberal idea, but because they sincerely believe that they are doing God’s work – loving their neighbor, empowering the (polically) weak, and bringing justice to the oppressed.
In some parts of the state, much of the No on 8 work was being done by church groups.
Yet for some reason, the Campaign kept them mostly hidden and did not utilize their unique ability to speak from a position of moral authority.
Let’s hope that the new leadership which is growing out of the Prop 8 fiasco will be willing to include Mainstream Christianity into our quest for equality.
David C.
December 4th, 2008
Timothy,
Clearly, faith groups that support gay rights should be given every opportunity to do so.
I think there has been, and continues to be, an ongoing distrust by many gay people of anything or anyone associated with organized religion simply because of the historical enmity shown by some religions towards homosexuality. This is something that not only gay leaders but individual gay people need to overcome.
Obviously, we need to reach out to everyone and every organization that is sympathetic to the cause of gay rights.
Leave A Comment