Box Turtle Bulletin

Budweiser Continues in Sponsorship of Anti-Gay Murder Music

On Sunday we informed you that Budweiser has signed on as sponsor of a music event that featured Beenie Man. This artist’s lyrics endorses the murder of gay men and women, a position that he unapologetically champions repeatedly in his recordings and performances.

On Monday, March 3, I inquired with Anheuser-Busch regarding this endorsement. On Tuesday I received a response inquiring about the details. At 1:23 PST, I immediately replied with the following email:

Customer Relations,

Thank you for your response. Here is additional information:

Bud Select is a sponsor of Wild 98.7’s Wild Splash on March 8, 2008 at the Ford Amphitheater. Beenie Man is listed as a featured performer.

[Ref: Link to Wild 98.7 web site]

I’m sure that you are aware that Beenie Man’s lyrics have caused considerable concern in the gay community, as they endorse violence and murder against gay people. A number of venues and sponsors have in the past pulled support once the meaning of his music came to their attention.

[Ref: Link to Guardian web site]

You may also know that Jamaica is currently considered one of the most, if not the very most, dangerous place for gay people to live. There are regular reports of mob attack, often encouraged by the police.

[Ref: :Link to New York Times article]

And Beenie Man is unapologetic about his message of hate. When questioned about such lyrics as “I’m dreaming of a new Jamaica, come to execute all the gays” or “Hang lesbians with a long piece of rope” or “Take a bazooka and kill gay men”, he responded that he reserved the right to criticize “the homosexual lifestyle”.

[Ref: Link to IGLA article]

By propagating Beenie Man’s message, venues and sponsors send a message to Jamaicans and others that homophobia is acceptable. There is no question that such messages lead to increased violence and death.

For further information about the conditions in Jamaica and the part that some musicians play in this situation, I invite you to review our website, or just do a quick Google search.

I look forward to your response. Thank you,

Timothy Kincaid
www.boxturtlebulletin.com

As yet I have not received any reply or other response to the information. The St. Petersburg Times lists the following for tomorrow in their Out and About section

Wild Splash ’08: The popular bash hosted by WLLD-FM 98.7 returns this year with a list of some of the hottest acts on the radio airwaves: Wyclef Jean, Beenie Man, Pitbull, Rick Ross, Baby Bash, Trina, Treal, J Holiday, Grind Mode and more. 4 p.m.; Ford Amphitheater, 4802 U.S. 301 N, Tampa. Call 287-8844.

The radio station’s website continues to list Beenie Man as a performer. The logo for Bud Select has been moved to a more prominent position on the page.

I assume that the concert will go on. And that Beenie Man’s lyrics will continue to call for the murder of “batty-men”. And more gay men and women will be attacked and murdered.

I am saddened that Anheuser-Busch doesn’t seem to care.

Rights of Gay Maryland Couples Threatened by One LegislatorDem

The Baltimore Sun is reporting that gay couples in Maryland may have to settle, at least for a while, for far less than marriage equality.

Although the state’s legislature is overwhelmingly Democrat, it appears that not only is marriage considered an impossible goal, so too is civil unions or really anything other than small package of selected benefits. And it is all due to one man:

[Sen. C. Anthony ] Muse, a Prince George’s County Democrat, opposes same-sex marriage but had considered supporting civil unions. He said yesterday that while civil unions are “off the table,” he’s concerned about providing equal rights. He said a more narrowly tailored bill could have the support in the full Senate to pass.

Although there are between 340 and 425 benefits provided by the state that could be provided on an equal measure, gay couples can at best expect a trickle.

Lawmakers expect that the alternative measure would combine three existing bills conferring some rights and benefits, such as hospital visitation rights, to same-sex couples into one bill. They plan to build upon that with other protections.

Muse, an evangelical minister, seems to base his objections to civil equality on his own religious beliefs. While this is not uncommon in Republican politics (to the dismay of fiscal conservatives, federalists, and libertarians), the Democrat Party prides itself – and rightly so – in placing equality of citizens as a higher priority than the observation of religious exclusionary traditions.

But as of yet I have not heard of any repercussions to Sen. Muse’s obstinate religously motivated political actions coming from either the state or national Democrat party. Muse seems to be free to dictate discrimination, and it does not appear to me that any Democrats in positions of leadership are willing to stand up to him and call him on his bigotry.

I have no doubt that there are a great many of our readers that are Democrats. Further, I am convinced that members of the gay community are far far more dedicated and contribute more time and money per capita to Democrats than nearly any other constituents.

It is a disgusting betrayal of trust that this state be dominated by Democrats who are willing to give their gay citizens merely the barest pitance. I think it may be time for loyal gay Democrats to contact their friends in Maryland leadership and in the national Democrat leadership and ask why Sen. Muse has been given veto power on providing any measure of equality to gay couples.

Perhaps a good question might be why Sen. Muse continues to sit on that committee.

And if the State or National Party is unwilling to stand up for gay citizens, perhaps the next fundraising appeal should receive the following response from gay party members:

Of course, in words I support the Party. And naturally some day, when the populace is in total agreement about the Democrat Party and such an act isn’t controversial, I’ll send you a check for $1,000. But in the meanwhile, here’s a check for two cents. Oh, and I’ll be sure to tell everyone just what a great person I am for giving you anything at all.

We deserve better, people. Let’s demand it.

C. ANTHONY MUSE
Democrat, District 26, Prince George’s County
James Senate Office Building, Room 304
11 Bladen St., Annapolis, MD 21401
(410) 841-3092, (301) 858-3092
1-800-492-7122, ext. 3092 (toll free)
e-mail: anthony.muse@senate.state.md.us
fax: (410) 841-3410, (301) 858-3410

Maryland Democratic Party
188 Main Street Suite 1
Annapolis, MD 21401
410-269-8818 (main)
410-280-8882 (fax)
webdem@mddems.org

Democratic National Committee
430 S. Capitol St. SE
Washington, DC 20003
Main Phone Number: 202-863-8000
(For questions about contributions, please call 877-336-7200)
email here

About Comments

One of our favorite supporters asked for it, so here it is: You can now keep up with comments in your RSS reader with our genuine, certified RSS Feed for comments. This joins the regular RSS Feed for all of BTB’s posts. And of course, you can always follow the comments for a particular post via each post’s Comments RSS 2.0 link.

And speaking of comments, we’ve recently updated our Comments Policy. The previously nebulous ban on name-calling has been replaced with more precise definitions and examples of derogatory terms which will not be tolerated. These changes are in response to a few recent comments which drew warnings of banning or moderation. Fortunately, no actions were taken, but it did leave me to conclude that perhaps not everyone knows what is considered derogatory. Hence the changes. Your comments, suggestions and criticisms are welcome.

Now An Entire Association of Anthropologists Disagrees With Stanton

Focus On the Family’s Glenn Stanton has really stepped into it this time. In Monday’s CitizenLink, he claimed that there’s a “clear consensus” among anthropologists that “A family is a unit that draws from the two types of humanity, male and female.”

But as we quickly learned, anthropologists vehemently disagree on what Stanton claims they agree on. The University of California at Irvine’s Anthropology Chair Bill Maurer and Associate Professor Tom Boellstorff reviewed ten thousand years of human existence and concluded:

[T]here is not now, and there never has been, one single definition of marriage. Marriage may be universal; but what counts as marriage is not.

And Dr. Patrick M. Chapman, anthropologist and author of the upcoming book “Thou Shalt Not Love”: What Evangelicals Really Say to Gays wrote to Box Turtle Bulletin with this:

… [A]pproximately 75 percent of the world’s cultures view polygamy as the preferred form of marriage. Furthermore, anthropologists document that cultures on every continent, excluding Antarctica, have accepted and recognized same-sex marriages.

Now comes word that the entire American Anthropological Association has joined the act with this letter to Focus On the Family (Emphasis in the original):

Dear Sir:

My name is Damon Dozier, and I am the American Anthropological Association (AAA) Director of Public Affairs. In this capacity, I am responsible for the Association’s full range of government relations, media relations, and international affairs programs. Founded in 1902, the AAA—11,000 members strong—is the world’s largest organization of men and women interested in anthropology. Its purposes are to encourage research, promote the public understanding of anthropology, and foster the use of anthropological information in addressing human problems.

I write to address the gross misrepresentation of the position of the anthropological community on gay marriage in your March 3, 2008 Citizen Link press release, “Anthropologists Agree on Traditional Definition of Marriage.” In the release, Glenn Stanton, an employee of your organization who does not identify himself as an anthropologist, asserts that “a family is a unit that draws from the two types of humanity, male and female.”

In point of fact, the AAA Executive Board issued in 2004, the following statement in response to President Bush’s proposal for a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage:

The results of more than a century of anthropological research on households, kinship relationships, and families, across cultures and through time, provide no support whatsoever for the view that either civilization or viable social orders depend upon marriage as an exclusively heterosexual institution. Rather, anthropological research supports the conclusion that a vast array of family types, including families built upon same-sex partnerships, can contribute to stable and humane societies.

I am alarmed and dismayed at this example of irresponsible journalism and deliberate misrepresentation of the anthropological community. In the future it is my hope that your organization will accurately and honestly convey and communicate the views and interests of the AAA, its 11,000 members, and the social science community at large.

Damon Dozier
Director of Public Affairs
American Anthropological Association
2200 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 600
Arlington, VA 22201
703.528.1902
ddozier@aaanet.org

You can read the full AAA Statement on Marriage and the Family here.

See also:
Now An Entire Association of Anthropologists Disagrees With Stanton
Another Real Anthropologist Speaks About Marriage
Focus’ Glenn T. Stanton Speaks For Anthropologists

Interview With Ex-Gay Survivor John Holm

I managed to pull ex-gay survivor John Holm aside for an interview as we stood out front of Memphis’s Central Church where Love Won Out was being held. I asked John about believing he was “changing,” dating girls, and his switch from Southern Baptist to Quakerism. John attended Living Hope Ministries in Arlington, TX as well as Nehemiah Ministries in Urbana, IL.

In other news, Beyond Ex-Gay has just released a photo album of our Memphis weekend.

Virginia Schools Get their Bird Books Back

Few things ruffle the feathers of anti-gays more than And Tango Makes Three, the true story of a pair of male penguins that hatched an abandoned egg and raised a chick. Or as OneNewsNow tells us:

Peter LaBarbera with Americans for Truth About Homosexuality says he is not surprised that the homosexual propaganda piece is still showing up in elementary school libraries.

“One of the more insidious aspects of the homosexual agenda has been its willingness to manipulate young people’s minds to promote homosexual behavior,” he warns. “We shouldn’t be talking about homosexuality to kids who are years away from understanding … what
normal sex is ….”

So one anti-gay got all flustered about gay penguins and decided to cause a flap at the Loudon County, Virginia, elementary schools.

The complaint was filed May 28 by Sherrie Sawyer, a teaching assistant at Sugarland Elementary, according to records the school system provided in response to a Freedom of Information Act request.

Sawyer identified herself as a Leesburg resident and a “concerned parent and assistant teacher” in the documents she submitted to school officials as part of her complaint and the two appeals she filed with Hatrick.

At first it looked like her complaint wouldn’t fly:

Following school system policy, the principal convened an advisory committee of principals, librarians, teachers and parents to review the book. The group deemed it acceptable, and the principal concurred. The parent appealed. Another committee of administrators, librarians and parents reviewed the book. That committee, too, recommended that it remain in the collection.

But Schools Superintendent Dr. Edgar B. Hatrick gave it wings by overruling them, taking the book out of circulation at 16 schools, and putting it on a restricted list. And the anti-gays felt their spirits soar. They couldn’t help but crow about their victory.

But now it turns out that Hatrick’s decision has had a bit of a fall. First he had to hop back:

Because the parent’s challenge pertained to the book’s availability at Sugarland Elementary, Hatrick said, the decision applies only to that school, not the 13 other elementary schools that have purchased the book. Librarians at those schools can decide whether to return it to shelves, he said.

Then the School Board took the wind out of his wings when they took away his ability to remove books unilaterally. Then Sawyer’s goose was really cooked.

[Hatrick] discovered the parent objecting to the book is not a parent at the school that received the complaint

So now Hatrick has learned: if you cater to the screeching of the anti-gay flock, you can end up with egg on your face.

Alan Chambers: Exodus “Backing Out of Policy Issues”

Last summer, we reported on Exodus International’s political lobbying activities, specifically the hiring of Amanda Banks as Exodus’ Director of Governmental Affairs. Ms. Banks spoke at the Exodus Freedom conference in Irvine about the many irons they had in the fire to try to make life more difficult for gays and lesbians who chose not to follow the ex-gay path.

There have been some rumblings that some Exodus-affiliated ministry leaders were dissatisfied with this latest move. Some felt that this political involvement was a unwelcome distraction to Exodus’ core mission as a ministry. And more to the point, a few worried that by maintaining such a public anti-gay posture, Exodus might actually interfere with a few of their member ministries’ efforts to engage in non-confrontational and non-judgmental outreach efforts.

Believe it or not, there are a few such ministries — perhaps a precious few, but they exist nonetheless — who really want to try to work in a less confrontational and judgmental manner. In fact, according to Exodus co-founder Michael Bussee, this was a key part of Exodus’ original vision.

More recently, Wendy Gritter, Executive Director of Toronto-based New Directions, gave a keynote address (MP3: 28.9MB/1:03:07) at an Exodus leadership conference in January. She urged her audience to put an end to its political lobbying, to stop emphasizing “change,” and to show genuine respect for those who are comfortable with their sexual orientation. She also joined several former ex-gay leaders with an apology of her own posted at Ex-Gay Watch:

I want to begin by saying I’m sorry. I’m sorry for the pain that some of those who follow this site have experienced from leaders like me and ministries like the one I lead. I’m sorry that some of you connected with this site who identify as Christian have had your faith questioned and judged. I’m sorry there is a felt need for a site like XGW. I’m sorry that it feels like legitimate concerns have not been listened to. I am sorry for the arrogance that can come across from leaders like me.

And now Exodus International president Alan Chambers talked with Ex-Gay Watch’s Dave Roberts and said that he has backtracked from his original decision to take Exodus in a more explicitly political direction. Last August, at about the same time we were reporting on Amanda Banks’ new job with Exodus, Alan “decided to back out of policy issues and our Director of Government Affairs took a position with another organization.”

But to the question of whether these changes were permanent, Alan replied:

One area that we found to be incredibly beneficial was simply sharing our stories with lawmakers. If and when there are opportunities to do that we will.

As for lobbying, promoting policies, etc., I don’t see us being involved in the near or distant future. Will we ever feel the need to get involved? Maybe — as a ministry we care about religious freedom and we are always watching to see how changes in policy might negatively impact our freedom.

They’ve used the “religious freedom” meme as an oft-repeated objection to hate crimes legislation — even though the proposed legislation only addresses violent crime and not speech, religion, or any other Constitutionally protected right.

It’s hard to know what all this means in the long run. But Beyond Ex-Gay co-founder Peterson Toscano is encouraged by some of this:

This is good news indeed and comes after much work on the part of folks both within and outside of Exodus to help the leadership to consider backing away from getting tangled in debates about LGBT rights.

Back in July during the Ex-Gay Survivor Initiative sponsored by Soulforce, ex-gay survivors shared their stories around the country with a recurring theme about harm, but also with a call to ex-gay leaders and church leaders to consider pastoral care and people’s lives before politics.

It’s not just former ex-gays who feel this way. While I was attending the Exodus conference in California last June, I ran into a few “strugglers” there who also disagreed with Exodus’ political activities. A few of them voiced to me some rather sharp of anti-gay statements made by prominent religious leaders, some of whom taped video welcome messages which were played at the start of the conference. There were a few names and faces which flashed on the screen which prompted scattered pangs of anguish and hisses among a very few members of the audience. And particular disgust was registered at those who were known for having used HIV/AIDS as a cudgel against the gay community in the past.

These changes at Exodus are long overdue and will be welcome by many both inside and outside the movement — assuming these changes are lasting and substantial. Whether that happens, only time will tell. I suppose we all will be putting together our own personal litmus tests over the next few months. Here’s mine: maybe this will mark the end of Alan’s appearances like his recent showing at the Family Impact Summit. That would be welcome news indeed.

Washington State Senate Passes Domestic Partnership Improvements

UPDATED: see below

As we reported earlier, the Washington State legislature has been considering a bill beefing up domestic partnerships. The House passed the bill in mid-February. It has now moved one step further:

The Senate passed House Bill 3104, proposed by Rep. Jamie Pedersen, D-Seattle, by 29-20 along a mostly party-line vote.

The bill grants same-sex couples additional rights — including the ability to share bank accounts, the right to hold common property and immunity from testifying against one’s partner in court. Divorce rights — including child-custody provisions — were also granted.

The measure now goes to Gov. Chris Gregoire, who is expected to sign it into law.

UPDATE:

3/13/07

Domestic partners will be granted more than 170 of the benefits and responsibilities given to married couples under a measure signed into law Wednesday by Gov. Chris Gregoire.

The measure adds domestic partners to sections of laws where previously only spouses were mentioned, including areas referring to probate and trusts, community property and homestead exemptions, and guardianship and powers of attorney.

Another Real Anthropologist Speaks About Marriage

We’ve heard from Anthropology Chair Bill Maurer and Associate Professor Tom Boellstorff at UC Irvine on Glenn Stanton’s assertion of what “anthropologists agree” on about marriage. Now it’s Dr Patrick M. Chapman’s turn. He’s another real live anthropologist and author of the upcoming book “Thou Shalt Not Love”: What Evangelicals Really Say to Gays (Haiduk Press, 2008):

Anthropologists Reject “Traditional” definition of Marriage
By Patrick M. Chapman, PhD

A recent article from Focus on the Family’s CitizenLink suggests that “anthropologists agree on traditional definition of marriage.” This statement is true only if they reference what anthropologists consider traditional, not the Focus on the Family opinion that marriage is solely between one man and one woman.

The article also states “There are two definitions of marriage in today’s culture – one of them has been around for centuries; the other is brand new.” Once again, this statement is true. However, Focus on the Family is confused as to which definition has been around for centuries and which is new. Anthropologists, historians and sociologists all recognize the “one man with one woman” definition of marriage to be very recent and not representative of how marriage is or has been expressed throughout the world. For example, in Marriage, a History historian Stephanie Coontz documents the changes that occurred in Western marriages over the last few centuries. Her research demonstrates that what Focus on the Family calls “traditional marriage” developed over the last 200 years, reaching its current form only in the middle of the last century.

Anthropologists often define marriage as a social, political, or economic contract between two individuals and their families – this does not imply monogamy, as a man with five wives has five separate marriage contracts. In fact, approximately 75 percent of the world’s cultures view polygamy as the preferred form of marriage. Furthermore, anthropologists document that cultures on every continent, excluding Antarctica, have accepted and recognized same-sex marriages. For examples, the Azande of Africa used the same rituals and words for same-sex marriages as they did opposite-sex marriages; three percent of all marriages among the Nandi of Kenya were between two women; same-sex marriages were common in Micronesian cultures with the married couple often adopting children and raising them with no ill effects whatsoever.

In 2004 the American Anthropological Association, the largest association of anthropologists in the United States, issued an official statement opposing the proposed federal marriage amendment, indicating:

The results of more than a century of anthropological research on households, kinship relationships, and families, across cultures and through time, provide no support whatsoever for the view that either civilization or viable social orders depend upon marriage as an exclusively heterosexual institution. Rather, anthropological research supports the conclusion that a vast array of family types, including families built upon same-sex partnerships, can contribute to stable and humane societies.

The Executive Board of the American Anthropological Association strongly opposes a constitutional amendment limiting marriage to heterosexual couples.

Suggesting anthropologists support Focus on the Family’s “traditional definition of marriage” is patently, unequivocally wrong.

See also:
Now An Entire Association of Anthropologists Disagrees With Stanton
Another Real Anthropologist Speaks About Marriage
Focus’ Glenn T. Stanton Speaks For Anthropologists

Focus’ Glenn T. Stanton Speaks For Anthropologists

From Focus’ Citizenlink publication:

Glenn Stanton, director of global family formation studies at Focus on the Family, said there’s a clear consensus among anthropologists.

“A family is a unit that draws from the two types of humanity, male and female,” he said. “Those two parts of humanity join together, create new life and they both cooperate in the legitimization of the child, if you will, and the development of the child.”

Stanton doesn’t give a source for claiming this consensus nor is Stanton an anthropologist himself. Stanton’s bio on Focus’ website only lists a master’s degree in interdisciplinary humanities with an emphasis in philosophy, history and religion from the University of West Florida.

I thought I’d see what an actual anthropologist had to say about the matter. To be specific, Bill Maurer, the anthropology department chair at the University of California, Irvine. I sent Focus’ article to Maurer who penned this response (reprinted in full) with a fellow professor:

Since its beginnings as a scientific discipline in the 19th century, anthropology has documented the historical and cultural variability of marriage and family forms. From ghost marriages to “female husbands” to polyandry, polygamy and cousin marriage, the cultures of the world exhibit incredible diversity in how they manage the universal problems of cultural transmission and the reproduction and care of the next generation. Indeed, Lewis Henry Morgan, one of the field’s forefathers, documented hundreds of distinct kinship arrangements. For over a hundred years, anthropologists have continually surprised themselves and other Western observers with the diversity of family and marriage arrangements deemed sacred, valuable, and morally necessary for the reproduction of society. The American Anthropological Association, the oldest and largest professional organization for anthropologists, affirms this diversity and noted its support for gay marriage in 2004-05. In fact, the Association requires academic recruiters who advertise with its service to state whether they provide benefits to same-sex partners and whether they forbid discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. It does this because the scientific evidence is on its side: there is not now, and there never has been, one single definition of marriage. Marriage may be universal; but what counts as marriage is not. The current American political debate is thus quite parochial when seen from the point of view of 10,000 years of human history.

For more information: American Anthropological Association; on the gay marriage debate, see this link.

Bill Maurer
Professor and Chair
Department of Anthropology, University of California, Irvine
and
President, Association for Political and Legal Anthropology

Tom Boellstorff
Associate Professor
Department of Anthropology, University of California, Irvine
Editor-in-Chief, American Anthropologist, and
Former co-Chair, Society of Lesbian and Gay Anthropologists

See also:
Now An Entire Association of Anthropologists Disagrees With Stanton
Another Real Anthropologist Speaks About Marriage
Focus’ Glenn T. Stanton Speaks For Anthropologists

A Picture Is Worth Two Words

American Idol Contestant David Hernandez’ Revealing Past

Rumors have been flying about American Idol contestant David Hernandez. And now they have been confirmed by the Associated Press:

The 24-year-old finalist from Glendale, Ariz., once worked as a stripper at Dick’s Cabaret, appearing fully nude and performing lap dances for the club’s “mostly male” clientele, club manager Gordy Bryan said Monday.

The themes of the first two weeks were Songs from the 60’s and Songs from the 70’s. If today’s theme is Songs from the 80’s, I’d like to recommend that he perform You Can Leave your Hat On as performed by Joe Cocker.

(warning: some may find Kim Basinger’s spectacular strip scene from 9 1/2 Weeks to be offensive)

You give me reason to vote
you give me reason to vote
you give me reason to vote

California Supreme Court Heard Marriage Arguments

Today the CA Supreme Court heard argument for and against requiring the state to provide civil marriage recognition to all of its citizens without regard to their sexual orientation.

The LA Times reports that the justices appear to be split on their thinking.

During three hours of arguments by lawyers for and against gay marriage, Justice Joyce L. Kennard questioned whether “the state has effectively conceded there is no valid grounds for distinction” between domestic partnership and marriage.

But at least three of the seven justices repeatedly noted that California voters have defined marriage as a union between a man and a woman, and that the public might not be ready to embrace same-sex marriage.

For audio clips from the pleadings, check out Good As You

The court will make its decision within the next 90 days.

Early 20th Century Trangender

Colleen Cason in the Ventura County Star tells the story of Lucy Hicks, a local who lived as a woman though born male.

Did he suspect she was a man, I asked him. It didn’t matter, he told me. “Lucy was just Lucy,” he said. She always greeted him with a cheery “Hello, there, young man” when he delivered her weekly order from the butcher shop to her kitchen.

Lucy stood up for her gender identity long before the notion of transgendered persons became commonly known.

Lucy challenged the authority of physicians who insisted that she was male. “I defy any doctor in the world to prove that I am not a woman,” Anderson told reporters in the midst of her perjury trial. “I have lived, dressed, acted just what I am, a woman.”

The Sheldon Institute also has a collection of articles from the Star

Iowa Anti-Gay Activists Join Forces

Chuck Hurley of the Iowa Family Policy Center and Keith Ratliff , pastor of Des Moines’ Maple Street Missionary Baptist Church, have found a common cause: fear and loathing of the “homosexual agenda”.

Having met in their quest to deny gay couples any protections, the Des Moines Register reports that the two have become closer:

And on this Sunday morning, Ratliff looked up from his pulpit and saw Chuck Hurley, the former state legislator, walk in with his family. A while back, Hurley and his organization, the Iowa Family Policy Center, had organized a rally at which Ratliff spoke against same-sex marriage. They’d become fast friends.

But never before had Hurley brought his family to Ratliff’s mostly black church.

The choir belted out hymns. Hurley’s 10-year-old son, Tim, a vivacious boy who loved to sing and dance, swayed with the music.

The church quieted. Ratliff introduced his friend. Hurley put his hand on his son’s shoulder. The family had been searching for a wholesome, soulful place for Tim to express his God-given talents. They’d found that place.

“This is Tim,” Hurley said. “He’d like to join your kids choir.”

The church erupted in applause.

I do think it admirable that the Hurleys are supportive of their son and seek to find him a way to express himself. However, I wonder where this will lead.

Vivacious young boys who love to sing and dance tend to grow up to be vivacious young men that perform in musicals. And, as such, young Tim Hurley is quite likely to become close friends with a number of gay young men and will come to see that these young men are not the scourge of society nor the enemies of sacred institutions. He may even come to strongly believe that his father’s claim that homosexuality is based in “choice” is, at best, ignorant and hurtful.

Those who love the musical arts frequently are among the most vocal and convicted supporters of equality for gays and lesbians. And for this reason I hope that the love the Hurleys have for their son will be strong enough to overcome their fear and their loathing and that they will come to see that their drive “to speak up against” homosexuality may be based in their own biases and not a command by God.

If not, young Tim Hurley may have a tough row to hoe.