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 14th, 2011
France has a limited second-tier recognition it allows for same sex couples, pacte civil de solidarité. It appears that this will remain the case for a while (Pink News)
The French parliament has rejected a bill designed to give gay couples the right to marry.
Today, lawmakers voted by 293 votes to 222 to block the bill, which was not expected to pass.
This is a bit ironic. One of the unexpected results of offering the second tier PACS is that many opposite-sex couples are opting for PACS as a sort of trial-marriage rather than take on the full obligations in marriage. Those who voted for religious beliefs about marriage being ideal or who sought to “protect marriage” actually hurt their cause.
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:
bigolpoofter
June 14th, 2011
Brilliant! Blame the Gays because you set up a second-tier status that more heterosexuals seek now because of their fear of commitment.
TonyJazz
June 14th, 2011
It remains dissappointing that the French remain behind their peers on this subject. I know they’ve been stuck with a sexist, right-wing government for a long time, but you’d hope that they would become more socially progressive at some point.
I’m glad that I haven’t been to France for a long while, and this is one more reason to avoid returning….
Timothy (TRiG)
June 14th, 2011
I expect better things of the country which created one of the first human rights documents in the world. I think it’s still better than what we have in Ireland, isn’t it?
TRiG.
Graham
June 14th, 2011
When the iron hand of Sarko is gone the true republican ideal of equality will triumph.
occono
June 14th, 2011
^^ Actually I think PACS are worse….
chanson
June 15th, 2011
It’s funny how counter-productive the efforts of the “defenders of marriage” are when it comes to promoting marriage. Even if you set aside the obvious (disallowing gay marriage is directly preventing committed couples from getting married) and just look at the effects on straight people’s marriages, they’re still doing the opposite of helping.
Before the gay marriage debate took off, there was a bit of a trend in the US and Europe that marriage is mostly for traditionalists who care whether they’re sinning or not, but most couples don’t really need it. That gay people would fight so hard for the right to marry has taught young straight people that marriage is something valuable, to work and fight for. And the statistics bear this out (in terms of increasing marriage rate and decreasing divorce rate in places where there’s strong support for gay marriage).
The story you cite illustrates the other side of the same coin. They tried telling people “You don’t really need marriage — you should be satisfied with PACS, which is pretty much just as good — marriage is for religious people.” And if you convince people of that, look what happens to (straight) marriage.
Timothy Kincaid
June 15th, 2011
TRiG,
No, Ireland has civil unions which provide for nearly all of the rights, benefits and obligations of marriage (there are some exceptions). PACS are among the weakest of all schemes in Western Europe.
Leave A Comment