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 lobbyNovember 29th, 2010
The Pew Forum released a poll today which continues to document the public’s support for repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.
As the Pentagon prepares to release its highly anticipated survey of military personnel about the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, most Americans (58%) say they favor allowing homosexuals to serve openly in the armed forces. Fewer than half that number (27%) oppose allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly.
That is a fairly static statistic, with little change over the past five years. And, as has been the case for years, support for repeal is broad with strong Democrat support and nearly as many Republicans favoring repeal as opposing it.
It is sad to see politicians pandering to a subset of a demographic to continue discrimination that is not wanted by the American people.
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:
Chris McCoy
November 29th, 2010
Is it really any surprise to whom politicians are pandering?
Republican – 40%
65+ – 44%
White evangelical – 34%
Attend church weekly or more – 40%
Chris McCoy
November 29th, 2010
Ryan
November 29th, 2010
The thing that Republican senators know, is that the majority of Republicans who are against repeal will be angry enough at a GOP senator who votes for it to vote against him or her in the primaries. And in a general election, Independents aren’t likely to base their vote on whether or not the GOP candidate voted for repeal, even if they’re personally against DADT. That’s why I suspect Lindsay Graham is correct when he says all the GOP senators will vote against repeal. There’s no upside to voting for repeal, and they will almost certainly face an angry Tea Party challenge in their next primary.
KZ
November 29th, 2010
…and the Senator McCain this poll means absolutely nothing.
Dan
November 29th, 2010
Only one group has a majority in opposition to repeal: conservative Republicans at 52%. For this group, even the minority that favors repeal, 28%, is attenuated by a large number of don’t knows: 19%. Moderate and liberal Republicans together are 62% in favor.
White evangelicals have 48% opposed, a relatively high number though not a majority. As with conservative Republicans, many respondents say they don’t know: 17%.
Outside conservative Republicans and white evangelicals, no group could be considered to show strong opposition. People who attend church weekly come closest, but they’re evenly divided with an unusually high 21% saying they don’t know. The 65+ age group has only 28% opposed, with an exceptionally high 28% saying they don’t know.
I would like to see results for conservatives as a group, as opposed to just conservative Republicans. My guess is that any really strong opposition will be found there. I’d also like to see the results broken down into “strongly favor,†“somewhat favor,†and so on.
In any case, the Republicans in congress must be pandering to their conservative base, which includes many white evangelicals. It’s strange, because you’d think they’d want to broaden their appeal. A few might start doing that by voting to repeal DADT.
They could also be trying to keep the Democrats from getting anything done. We’ll know more after the upcoming vote.
The large “don’t know” groups suggest to me that a lot of people are conflicted. Some of the respondents who are most prejudiced against gay people may also have the highest regard for those who are willing to fight and possibly die for their country.
Donnchadh
November 30th, 2010
McCain is at least ahead of his colleagues in disdaining public opinion on this issue.
With the tide turning against them, opponents of gay marriage will soon have to give up on the “right of the people to vote” rhetoric and switch to “marriage is a sacrament that transcends politics and should not be put to a vote”.
Leave A Comment