Box Turtle Bulletin

Liberty Counsel Accuses Jo-Vanni of Being An Irresistably Cute “Setup” for Rekers

The knives are out for Jo-vanni Roman, the Miami-based escort who accompanied disgraced anti-gay activist George Rekers on a ten-day trip to Europe so Roman could “lift Rekers’ luggage” — and provide daily nude massages. As an indication of how important Rekers’ downfall was to the anti-gay establishment, Matt Savers’ Liberty Counsel has agreed to back Rekers’ threat to sue Roman and media outlets for defamation. From this morning’s Washington Times:

Officials at the Liberty Counsel said Wednesday they would back Mr. Rekers if he followed through on his threat this week to sue media outlets and others for trying to discredit him.

“I think [Mr. Rekers] would have a great case to file a defamation action,” said Mathew D. Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel said.

“I think it was a completely arranged setup,” he said, referring to the presence of writers of the free weekly Miami New Times at Miami International Airport when Mr. Rekers and his hired travel companion arrived in the United States April 13.

…The Liberty Counsel’s Mr. Staver said he believes Mr. Rekers’ recent court appearances, in which the professor testified in favor of state bans on gay adoption, became “a major focus of people trying to discredit him as an individual.”

“I think that it’s the classic [tactic], ‘If you can’t destroy the message, you destroy the messenger,’ … and I think this is a personal attack designed to cast aspersions on his character and reputation,” Mr. Staver said.

You see? It’s all Jo-vanni’s fault. The “setup” occurred when Jo-vanni put his irresistible profile onto Rentboy.com. If he hadn’t have done that, Rekers never would have noticed him among all the other luggage lifters the web site had on offer. Jo-vanni was the only one who could pull this off. See?

Damn Jo-vanni, if being cute were a crime, we’d just have to call you convicted!

Exodus Co-Founder: When People Left Our Program They Just Disappeared

As notable ex-gay survivor Peterson Toscano wrote in 2007, ex-gay programs and Exodus have absolutely no sort of after-care or follow-up when a participant leaves a program:

Never once has an ex-gay program I attended ever done any sort of follow-up. I mean I can’t buy a soy latte these days without having to fill out a survey about my coffee experience. Yet folks can spend tens of thousands of dollars on reparative therapy and nothing–no aftercare, no reflections on what worked and what didn’t work.

I’m admittedly curious about what goes through the mind of an ex-gay leader when a participant stops coming.  Do they assume the person is cured?  Have they gone back in the closet? Are they living the dreaded homosexual lifestyle?

It’s not an easy thing to confront as you can tell by Michael’s body language in this segment and that I had to ask the question three times before we got into the meat of the issue.

(transcript after the jump)

Read the rest of this entry »

Stories From the Frontlines: “I Did My Part Mr. President, Please Do Yours”

Today’s letter to President Barack Obama urging repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is from former Air Force Staff Sergeant David Hall, who was discharged under DADT almost eight years ago. SSgt Hall grew up as an Air Force brat, with his father and stepfather retiring after twenty years of service. David followed in their footsteps when he joined in March 1996. He didn’t realize he was gay at the time, and didn’t give the military’s ban any notice.

David loaded missiles onto F-15’s at Langley AFB and was deployed to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait for Operation Southern Watch. He worked his way into leadership, where he trained and evaluated load crews. He was promoted to Staff Sergeant on his first try and was a distinguished graduate from Airman Leadership School. His story continues:

After reenlisting for another four years I decided to apply for Air Force ROTC and was selected under the Professional Officer Course – Early Release Program.  I was discharged from active duty in August 2001 and signed my ROTC contract the next day.  One of the proudest moments of my life was when I received my pilot slot.  I was so excited; not only was I going to be an officer in the Air Force but I also had the chance to be a pilot.  All my hard work was paying off.

But everything changed a few months later.  A cadet went to my commanders and told them I was gay and dating a fellow cadet.  During the investigation that followed I made no comment to the JAG officer conducting the investigation.  I was eventually called into my commander’s office and disenrolled from ROTC in August 2002.  I received a piece of paper saying I was no longer fit for military duty due to “homosexual conduct.”  You can’t even imagine how that feels.  Almost 8 years later, I still remember wearing my flight suit for the last time and handing my ID card to the NCO who was trying not to cry.

Mr. President – I assure you I am fit for military duty and so are the 66,000 lesbian and gay service members currently serving.  Please keep your promise and stop discharging patriotic Americans.  I did my part; now, sir, please do yours!

You can read his full letter here. All of the letters from the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network’s campaign are available here. The SLDN explains why they are publishing this series of letters from active and former servicemembers:

“Stories from the Frontlines: Letters to President Barack Obama” is a new media campaign launched to underscore the urgent need for congressional action and presidential leadership at this critical point in the fight to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT). Every weekday morning as we approach the markup of the Defense Authorization bill in the Senate and House Armed Services Committees, SLDN and a coalition of voices supporting repeal, will share an open letter to the President from a person impacted by this discriminatory law. We are urging the President to include repeal in the Administration’s defense budget recommendations, but also to voice his support as we work to muster the 15 critical votes needed on the Senate Armed Services Committee to include repeal. The Defense Authorization bill represents the best legislative vehicle to bring repeal to the president’s desk. It also was the same vehicle used to pass DADT in 1993. By working together, we can help build momentum to get the votes! We ask that you forward and post these personal stories.

Same-sex marriage delayed in Nepal

Nepal was scheduled to implement their new constitution no later than May 28, 2010, a document that guaranteed marriage equality. It appears that this deadline will not be met. (hindustan times)

A specially elected constituent assembly has until May 28 to complete the draft of the nascent Himalayan republic’s first constitution, two years after it got rid of the monarchy.

But assembly chairman Subas Nemwang said the panel, dominated by the Maoist former rebels, still had a long list of chores and could take at least four months to complete the task.

“There are difficulties to meet the May 28 deadline. We don’t have enough time to follow the procedures and rules,” Nemwang said.

The delay could be destabilizing, and violence could resume. Should this process not go smoothly, this will reduce the likelihood of Nepal becoming Asia’s first nation to institute marriage equality.

Garrett on the definition of “militant homosexual activist”

Bruce Garrett writes at Truth Wins Out about what anti-gay activists mean by “don’t flaunt it”. What they really mean is that they won’t harm you as long as you hate yourself as much as they do.

A Militant Homosexual is a homosexual who doesn’t think there is anything wrong with being a homosexual. A Militant Homosexual Activist is a homosexual who acts like there is nothing wrong with being a homosexual. That really is all there is to it. You don’t have to wave the rainbow flag. You don’t have to march in your annual Pride Day parade. You don’t even have to swell with Pride whenever you think of how far we have come as a people since the Stonewall riots. You just have to be comfortable with being gay and being the person you are…and behave accordingly.

To Exodus’ VP, compassion is not for real gay people

Mike Goeke is the Vice Chairman of the Board of Exodus International. He is also a counseling pastor at Stonegate Fellowship, a Southern Baptist church in Midland, TX.

He and some of his fellow parishioners prepared a video patting themselves on the back for their out-reach to same-sex attracted people. But as you listen to this amateurish (and creepy) advertisement, a theme emerges.

Seven times they mention “people with same-sex attractions”, five times they talk about those who “struggle” and another three times about those “impacted” by homosexuality (which is, itself, mentioned six times). There was even one self-congratulatory outburst of compassion for “people with same-sex attraction who are struggling with homosexuality.”

And there was talk about “wounded people” and “the problem” and even unwanted attractions. There was comparison to alcoholism and heterosexual adultery. Indeed, they had a ministry to those who are “hurting”. And they offer “hope” and even once wonder at those who “overcome same-sex attractions in their own marriage”.

But you? Real gay people? Those who don’t “struggle” or “hurt” or who are not “impacted”? You who aren’t trying to keep together a heterosexual marriage, or who aren’t feeling rejected by your condemnatory brow-beating church?

You don’t exist.

Oh, there was one use of the word “gay” by a fellow who was judgmental of his gay friends as a youth. But don’t worry, he soon learned to them of them like a woman caught in adultery.

This is not accidental. Exodus – and much of the rest of conservative evangelical Christianity – are quite aware that they don’t use words like “gay” or “sexual orientation”. And they never ever acknowledge that there are happy, healthy, joyful, vibrant, gay men and women who have full rich lives, loving spouses, doting families, and especially peace or spiritual fulfillment.

If they did that, how could they pat themselves on the back for fighting against your civil equality and freedom?

Sir Norman Fry had a better explanation

In hearing the explanations, clarifications, and charges of defamation from Dr. George Rekers puts me in mind, for some reason, of Little Britain USA’s delightful skit involving Sir Norman Fry

Parts two and three are also quite fun.

Rekers Says He’s “Not Gay” Despite “Weaknesses”

The more Rekers speaks (or writes via email), the deeper he digs his hole. Earlier today Christianity Today followed up on George Rekers’ resignation from NARTH, in which, despite having paid an escort to, well, escort and nude-massage him through a ten-day trip to Europe, Rekers insists “I am not gay and never have been.” Sarah Pulliam Bailey got a follow-up statement from Rekers via email saying that he is currently receiving counselling from a team of three “Christian counsellors” (sound familiar?) “so I can more fully understand my weaknesses and prevent this kind of unwise decision-making in the future.”

What those weaknesses are, he would not say.  But just so you know, he’s not gay and never has been.

Meanwhile Rekers says his wife will be retiring soon and will accompany him on trips when their sons are unavailable.

Why Did Melissa Fryrear Leave Focus On The Family?

The Colorado Springs Gazette’s “The Pulpet” blog makes note of the news that Melissa Fryrear, the longtime “senior analyist on gender issues” at Focus On the Family, is no longer with the organization. Neither Fryrear nor Focus will comment on her leaving, although Carrie Gordon Earll, Focus’ senior director of issues analysis, told The Pulpet’s Mark Barna that Fryrear resigned to pursue speaking opportunities.

Fryrear, you may recall, has been an integral part of the Love Won Out ex-gay roadshow, in which she consistently asserts that she has never met a gay man or woman who has not been molested or sexually abused.

Fryrear’s departure comes after it was announced the Focus On the Family would no longer co-sponsor and produce the Love Won Out conferences with Exodus International. Fryrear not only directed those conferences when they were under the Focus umbrella, but she was also a keynote speaker and conducted several breakout sessions as well. Fryrear did give her keynote speech at the first all-Exodus LWO conference held in San Diego on March 6 of this year, but it appears that she did not give any of her usual workshops. Sometime after that, Fryrear was either separated, or she separated herself, from Focus On the Family. Circumstances and timing remains murkey. Fryrear is also no longer speaking at upcoming Love Won Out conference scheduled for June in Irvine, California. This led Barna to try to learn why:

Attempts to reach Fryrear at her east Colorado Springs home have been unsuccessful. Having learned of my attempts to contact Fryrear, [Focus spokesman Gary] Schneeberger told me Saturday that she won’t speak to me.

Has Fryrear had a change of heart toward faith-based reparative therapy, leading to her resignation?

A ministry colleague of Fryrears doesn’t believe that is the case.

Karen Keen, who operates an online site called Pursue God, writes on her blog that in conversations with Fryrear over the years she’s expressed a desire to “pursue other ministry opportunities not related to homosexuality.”

Minnesota to recognize same-sex couples unless Pawlenty vetoes

Today the Minnesota legislature took a very small step and crossed a very great divide: they went from being a state that sees same-sex couples as two distinct individuals who are legal strangers without any formal relationship to being a state that recognizes, in at least some small way, that same-sex couples are a unit, two people who have emotional, financial, and legal connections. (Star Tribune)

Domestic partners would have the right to determine what happens with the remains of a deceased partner under a bill passed by the Minnesota House on Tuesday.

The “Final Wishes” bill defines domestic partners and gives them decision-making power ahead of children, siblings and parents after a partner’s death.

The measure would also give domestic partners the right to sue for damages in cases of wrongful death.

This may seem like a small portion of equality, hardly worth getting excited over. But this is a tremendous step, one that impacts far more than those couples who can now breath a sigh of relief that the decisions surrounding their final rest can be made by the one who knows and loves them best. Because this bill defines domestic partners.

The real battle for equality is over whether gay people and gay couples exist.

You’d think that would be a given. Everyone knows – on some level – that gay folks exist and that some of them form couples. Yet that is the point most hotly debated by anti-gay activists and most ardently denied by anti-gay politicians.

All of the anti-gay rhetoric that we hear about “there is no gay gene” and “no one is born gay” and “there is no such thing as sexual orientation” and “change is possible” all seek to deny the existence of gay people. These claims all seek to advance the notion that those who identify as gay are just “heterosexuals with a homosexual problem” or are “heterosexuals who struggle with same-sex attractions.”

Because once you acknowledge that gay people exist – real gay people and not just flawed heterosexuals who engage in homosexual behavior – then you have changed the power dynamic in the debate. If gay people exist, the question is no longer over what will be allowed for people who do, but becomes a debate over what rights exist for people who are. No longer can discrimination be dismissed by, “well if they just wouldn’t do that”; and now rights are presumed to exist and any denial must be justified and explained.

And the same is true of couples. Once you acknowledge that same-sex couples exist, then each denied right demands an explanation.

Instead of needing to justify each additional equality, the question is why it should not be provided. Once a state has defined what a domestic partnership is, then it must explain why such a unit should be treated differently from other units.

Why should gay couples not be treated like straight couples when using a state park? Why should they be denied hospital visitation? Why should they pay different taxes?

And this is why anti-gay Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty is expected to veto the bill. He probably doesn’t much care who makes cremation decisions. I doubt he is concerned over who gets to sue for wrongful death. But he very much fears the idea that the State of Minnesota could acknowledge that same-sex couples, families, domestic partners exist.

The bill faces a likely veto by Gov. Tim Pawlenty, however. Pawlenty spokesman Brian McClung said it is unnecessary because people can already designate whomever they want to make such decisions. It “seems to be a political exercise to get the term ‘domestic partner’ into state law,” McClung added.

Unfortunately for Gov. Pawlenty, the culture has already accepted the existence of gay couples. And in time, if not already, Minnesotans will see the denial of small personal dignities like death decisions to be cruel, bigoted and hateful.

Military Bloggers Call for DADT Repeal

A group of influential military bloggers has issued a joint statement calling for the repeal of “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.” The group of bloggers endorse holding off repealing DADT until the Pentagon finishes a study due December 1 on how (and not if) the repeal would be implemented. “We ask Congress to withhold action until this is finished, but no longer,” the group says.

Sixteen military bloggers signed on to the statement, which Ben Smith characterizes as “often hawkish, critical of White House and military leadership, [and] devoted to both the First and Second Amendments.” Bruce McQuain, one of the signatories, writes:

I’ve thought about it long and hard.  I’ve actually changed my mind from years ago.  I guess that’s because I’ve known of and served with soldiers I knew were gay.  And every one of them were good soldiers who served honorably and did an excellent job.

Another blogger, “Uncle Jimbo” recalls his evolution on the subject from five years ago, when he wrote:

“If I am lying by the road bleeding, I don’t care if the medic coming to save me is gay. I just hope he is one of those buff gay guys who are always in the gym so he can throw me over his shoulder and get me out of there.”

The complete statement is below:

JOINT STATEMENT FROM MILITARY BLOGGERS
12 MAY 2010

 We consider the US military the greatest institution for good that has ever existed. No other organization has freed more people from oppression, done more humanitarian work or rescued more from natural disasters.  We want that to continue. 

Today, it appears inevitable to us that the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy and law restricting those displaying open homosexual behavior from serving will be changed.  And yet, very little will actually change.  Homosexuals have always served in the US Military, and there have been no real problems caused by that.

 The service chiefs are currently studying the impact and consequences of changing the DADT policy, and how to implement it without compromising the morale, order and discipline necessary for the military to function. The study is due to be completed on Dec. 1st. We ask Congress to withhold action until this is finished, but no longer.  We urge Congress to listen to the service chiefs and act in accordance with the recommendations of that study.

 The US Military is professional and ready to adapt to the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell without compromising its mission.  Echoing Sec. Def. Gates and ADM Mullen, we welcome open and honorable service, regardless of sexual orientation. 

Matt Burden- Warrior Legacy Foundation & BLACKFIVE

Jim Hanson- Warrior Legacy Foundation & BLACKFIVE

Blake Powers- BLACKFIVE

Fred Schoenman- BLACKFIVE 

David Bellavia- House to House 

Bruce McQuain- Q&O 

JD Johannes- Outside the Wire 

Diane Frances McInnis Miller- Boston Maggie 

Mark Seavey- This Ain’t Hell 

Michael St. Jacques- The Sniper 

Mary Ripley- US Naval Institute Blog 

John Donovan- Castle Argghhh! 

Argentine priest endorses marriage equality

Any week now the Senate in Argentina will debate and vote on the law passed by the House which authorizes same-sex marriages. One of the principal opponents to marriage equality in Argentina is the Roman Catholic Church, the nation’s dominant faith.

However, a prominent priest in Mendoza appears to have provided the tool necessary for separating the religious position of Catholics from their civil law. (Los Andes – google translation)

A priest caused a stir within the Catholic Church after he declared on television that is in favor of the bill allowing gay marriage and that these days being debated in Congress.

It is the father Vicente Reale, who has an opinion column in the Channel 9 news. In that TV spot, the priest explained, referring to unions between persons of the same sex is right that the State legislate for a situation that is undeniable and proclaimed himself in favor of equal rights.

McCollum Doubled Rekers’ Fee For Incompetent Witness Testimony

Steve Rothous at the Miami Times Herald explains how Florida Attorney General and GOP gubernatorial candidate Bill McCollum came to pay disgraced “luggagegate” activist George Rekers more than $120,000:

The 2008 purchase requisition to pay Rekers $60,900. Click to download PDF (1.5 MB/2 pages). Via Miami Herald.

Anti-gay psychologist George Rekers charged Florida $300 an hour to testify as an expert witness in a trial defending Florida’s ban on gay people adopting. The state planned to cap Rekers’ fee at $60,900 — but paid him $120,693 after he exceeded his contracted hours.

“It is not unusual for estimated costs to require adjustment during the course of trial preparation,” said Sandi Copes, communications director for the Florida Attorney General’s Office.

Copes said the extra hours were not agreed to in writing, but “merely by discussion.”

…A 2008 Florida purchase requisition states that no payment to Rekers should exceed $60,900.Florida paid Rekers $60,900 in 2007 and $59,793 in 2009 for his testimony in the case of Frank Gill, a gay foster parent seeking to adopt two young brothers. Florida is the only state that bans all gay people from adopting.

Among Rekers’ charges to the state of Florida:

• $27,000 (90 hours) to “evaluate and critique” new research.

• $5,400 (18 hours) to meet with staff at the Attorney General’s Office to prepare for deposition.

• $6,000 (20 hours) to standby at trial and deliver expert academic opinions.

The 2008 purchase requisition is available here (PDF: 1.5MB/2 pages). And what did they get for all that money? Testimony that the judge found Rekers’ testimony was “motivated by his strong ideological and theological convictions that are not consistent with the science.” The judge concluded: “Based on his testimony and demeanor at trial, the court cannot consider his testimony to be credible nor worthy of forming the basis of public policy.”

McCollum personally selected Rekers to be the state’s star expert witness, claiming that “Our attorneys handling this case have searched long and hard for other expert witnesses with comparable expertise to Dr. Rekers and have been unable to identify any who would be available for this case.” A PDF of McCollum’s recommendation and his original suggestion that Rekers be capped at $100,000 is available here (164KB/2 pages). Given the judge’s evaluation of Rekers’ testimony, the sad fact is that McCollum may well have been right: Rekers probably was the best they could find, which speaks volumes about the so-called “expertise” of these anti-gay activists.

Laura Bush on Marriage Equality

I may be parsing words a bit too closely, but what I hear is that she recognizes the need for partnership rights. However, she is speaking overall about same-sex marriage and that the opposition to it is a “generational thing” for people who have difficulty adjusting their religious views to meet the real world. It’s too bad no one listened to her or the Cheneys in 2004. It’s also too bad she and the Cheneys weren’t more vocal about this in 2004.

Leonard Pitts on Rekers: “There Is A Moral Crime Here”

Columnist Leonard Pitts notes that what George Rekers did was not without its victims:

If all this sounds like a rerun, that’s only because it is. Indeed, in recent years, the crusader against gay rights who is revealed to be secretly gay himself has become a “type,” ubiquitous to the point of cliché. The list includes disgraced evangelist Ted Haggard, the late former Spokane mayor James West, California state Sen. Roy Ashburn, Mel White, ghost writer for the likes of Jerry Falwell, who became a gay activist, and my personal favorite, Michael Bussee [hyperlink added], a founder of Exodus International, another group that purported to cure homosexuality. He gave it up when he fell in love with a guy named Gary Cooper.

As much free material as fellows like this provide for the likes of Jon Stewart and David Letterman, as perversely entertaining as it is to watch someone work out his private psychodrama in the public space, as fascinating as naked self-loathing can be, it is important to remember that this is not harmless.

To the contrary, there is a moral crime here. We are, after all, talking about men in positions of authority and reach, men who could make laws and influence public perception and who used that power against their own.

Put yourself in the shoes of the teenager, bewildered and frightened by these feelings he or she is not “supposed” to have, feelings of sexual attraction to people of the same gender. You try to deny them, try to ignore them, try to suppress them, but they will not go away. You are all alone, isolated behind a secret that presses down on you like weights, a fear of rejection that haunts you like ghosts.

And here comes Dr. Rekers telling you you are abnormal, telling you you are bad, telling you he can cure you, as if you had a disease like measles or the flu.

Then, in his off hours, after he’s done curing you, he’s trolling rentboy.com looking for young men to handle his, ahem . . . baggage.