Box Turtle Bulletin

Washington Times Changes Its “Style”

The Washington Times recently hired  John Solomon as its editor-in-chief, and he’s beginning to make his mark. There’s a memo circulating in the blogosphere highlighting a few changes in that paper’s style guide. Of interest to us are points 2 and 3:

2) Gay is approved for copy and preferred over homosexual, except in clinical references or references to sexual activity.

3) The quotation marks will come off gay marriage (preferred over homosexual marriage).

Which means we don’t have to call the Washington Times a “newspaper” anymore.

Hospital Visitation Denied Again

Opponents to gay marriage routinely claim that gay couples can get all the legal protections of marriage through other means. Well that’s a crock:

Four months ago, Lacey resident Janice Langbehn, her partner Lisa Pond and their children Katie, David and Danielle, ages 10 to 13, were set for a relaxing cruise from Miami to the Bahamas.

But Pond, Langbehn’s partner for nearly 18 years, was stricken in Miami with a brain aneurysm and died. The family says the way they were treated by hospital staff compounded their shock and grief.

Langbehn, a social worker, said officials at the University of Miami, Jackson Memorial Hospital did not recognize her or their jointly adopted children as part of Pond’s family. They were not allowed to be with her in the emergency room, and Langbehn’s authority to make decisions for Pond was not recognized.

Here’s the kicker:

After Pond was taken to the emergency room, Langbehn said she was informed by a social worker that they were in an “anti-gay state” and that they needed legal paperwork before Langbehn could see Pond. Even after a friend in Olympia faxed the legal documents that showed that Pond had authorized Langbehn to make medical decisions for her, Langbehn said she wasn’t invited to be with her partner or told anything about her condition.

That’s right. Even with all of the legal paperwork in hand (and even though a straight couple would not have to show any sort of proof), Janice still wasn’t allowed to make any medical conditions, or even to sit alongside her partner as she lay dying. It took a Catholic priest to finally intervene as he administered last rites.

The doctors’ attitudes suddenly changed when they discovered that Lisa was an organ donor candidate. But since her death, the hospital reversed course again. The still haven’t given Janice Lisa’s medical records, and the county hasn’t provided her Lisa’s death certificate, items needed for their two children’s Social Security benefits.

New Zealand may get Pro-Gay Episcopal Bishop

If the Lord of the Rings movies are anything to go by, New Zealand is a lovely country. And as an ally of the United States, English speaking, and having had civil unions since 2004, (not to mention giving us Lucy Lawless), the Kiwis would seem to be a people that would make me feel welcome.

Now it seems like they may be taking a further step in welcoming gay and gay-friendly travelers. Stuff.co is reporting that the Anglican Church (New Zealand’s largest church) may be selecting a pro-gay Canadian as Bishop of Christchurch.

A Canadian woman bishop who has signaled support for blessing gay marriages is being confirmed as Christchurch’s new Anglican bishop.

Maybe those who were considering vacationing in Jamaica can instead think of a less hostile destination.

Broadway Baptist Finds a Happy Compromise

We’ve been following the drama of the membership book at Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth, TX.

The moderate church includes a number of gay members and seeks to be open to all who want to worship. But trouble arose when it came time to prepare a directory that included family pictures; two men showed up for their family shot.

Some of the more conservative members didn’t want gay couples listed as “family”. The men offered to have separate pictures taken.

But some of the more liberal members were angry that gay people were being disrespected and treated as second class members. What to do?

Well after several months, meetings, church discussions, “scholarly presentations and an in-depth look at the Scriptures”, and much anguished hand wringing, the church has found a compromise:

In a 294-182 vote, members approved a recommendation by the church’s board of deacons to publish a directory that would include member photos in “candid, small and large group pictures” but not include family portraits.

What an elegant solution. Now each group may seek to define for itself what members comprise their group (that isn’t a family, you know).

But regardless of the ridiculousness of renaming family as “a candid small or large group”, I believe that this process has been good for the church and for Christianity as a whole. As people struggle with the issue of including gay couples in communion, they have to deal with the realities of those people that they know and love. They can no longer pretend that their heterosexism is benign nor that passive anti-gay attitudes harm no one.

Church members voted after a sermon by Pastor Brett Younger in which he asked parishioners to look people in the eye and question what they see and how they react.

“If we look into the eyes of a gay Christian, we may have to rethink some of our opinions,” Mr. Younger said.

Very true, Pastor.

And give my regards to… um, your church.

See also:
Broadway’s Pastor Calls It Quits
Broadway’s Anti-Gays Vote
Broadway Baptist Finds a Happy Compromise
Broadway Baptist Punts on Gay Members’ Photos
More Baptist Controversy

NYT Reports Jamaica’s Anti-Gay Violence, Ex-Gay Efforts

The New York Times has an article today on the dangerous atmosphere in Jamaica.

Being gay in Jamaica is not easy. For years, human rights groups have denounced the harassment, beating and even killing of gays here, to little avail. No official statistic has been compiled on the number of attacks. But a recent string of especially violent, high-profile assaults has brought fresh condemnation to an island otherwise known as an easygoing tourist haven.

In times past, I have criticized the ex-gay movement, particularly members of the Exodus Global Alliance, for what I perceived as encouragement of hostilities towards gays. This article sheds light on what might well be the motivations of this branch of the Exodus family.

Since the attack, Andre said, he has been trying to undo his gayness, following a common view here that it is an acquired behavior that can be dropped if only one prays more and pays more attention to the opposite sex.

He fled Mandeville after the attack and found refuge at the home of a pastor, who now delivers at-home sermons to him on how he must change.

With the pastor standing over him, Andre said he would try to be attracted to women, if only so he would never be beaten again.

I am still waiting for those who rail against the “sin of homosexuality” to weigh in on the sin of murder. At times I wonder if the Church has spent so much effort on combatting the “immorality” of others that they haven’t completely lost their authority for fighting what is truly evil.

Not Anti-Gay Enough to be a Mormon

Peter Danzig isn’t gay – he’s a happily hetero husband and father of three. Nor is he an advocate for gay rights. And Danzig and his wife, Mary, were involved in their church, participating in the LDS Orchestra.

But Peter has been driven from the Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints because of his position on homosexuality.

According to an article in the Salt Lake Tribune, Danzig’s crime was writing a letter to the editor of the Tribune in support of Jeffrey Nielsen, a BYU adjunct professor who lost his job for publicly arguing that the LDS Church should not support an anti-gay marriage amendment.

In his letter, Danzig said that he was appalled at Neilson’s summary dismissal and at the Church’s efforts to have members write in support of an amendment that Danzig found “contrary to the Constitution and to the gospel of Christ.” He said:

I wish to express to Jeffrey Nielsen that I admire his courage and that I stand with him. I hope that rank-and-file members of the church as well as members of the lay clergy who also find this troubling will have the courage to step forward and let themselves be known. To do anything else would be to hide in the shadow of an injustice.

Peter and his wife were questioned and challenged and finally resigned the church rather than be excommunicated. Those not raised Mormon may not recognize the depth of anguish it can cause to be cut off from the church.

While the Church refuses to comment on the particulars of the story, they dispute Danzig’s tale.

“There is room in the [LDS] Church for honest disagreement regarding church positions,” LDS Spokesman Scott Trotter said. “Disagreement on doctrine only becomes an issue when a church member acts in open opposition to the church or its leaders.”

Disagreement on doctrine?

Support of civil legislation to deny the functions of the state to gay persons is a matter of doctrine?

Seeing the sights of Homo-no-mo

My weekend in Memphis was absolute non-stop activism but one afternoon we had a little free time to see some of the less traditional sights of Memphis. In Peterson Toscano’s one-man-play “Doin Time In The Homonomo Halfway House” he references a local mega-church nicknamed “Fort God” or “Six Flags Over Jesus.” This would be that church.

Of course I’ve got loads of video footage from the weekend which I’ll be releasing over the next week or so once I get a chance to sort through it all.

Russian Week Against Homophobia

Fifteen years ago, Russia repealed its laws making male homosexuality a criminal offense. But those  heady times were beginning to seem seem like a more distant memory when police and mobs violently attacked gay pride marchers in Moscow last year. Then in August, the Washington Post reported on deep divisions among Russia’s LGBT advocates, between those who pressed for more confrontational tactics against the rising tide of homophobia and others who felt that a more indirect approach was needed in order to avoid a harsh backlash.

Many of those advocates came together in January to launch a nationwide campaign to monitor discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The newly-formed Russian LGBT Alliance has also declared the week of March 15-31 as Russian Week against Homophobia (RWAHO). According to their press release:

Russian Week against Homophobia is a special attempt to attract public attention in a certain time-frame to the problem of homophobia and to its danger to the society as a whole. It’s a chance of responding to homophobic rhetoric by creating an area free from discrimination and hatred towards people.

…This year Russian Week against Homophobia will be held in major cities like Moscow, Saint-Petersburg, Voronezh, Krasnodar, Omsk, Petrozavodsk, Rostov-na-Donu, Samara, Tumen, Cheylabinsk, etc.

During March 25-31 there will be seminars, panel discussions, meetings, film showings with debates, as well as other events targeted at homophobia elimination in Russian society. Also, signature drive for the “Manifest against Homophobia” started last year will be continued.

They really have their work cut out for them. This morning’s New York Times reported on Russia’s transformation into a de facto one-party state under President Vladimir Putin. Reports of violence, threats, intimidation and coercion against opposition parties have have guaranteed Putin’s remaining in power under a figurehead president. Homophobia also played a role in the propaganda campaign against opposition parties:

Meanwhile, a different kind of propaganda war was being waged on the streets. Russia has relatively conservative attitudes toward homosexuality, and all autumn long Nizhny Novgorod was blanketed with tens of thousands of leaflets saying that Mr. Nemtsov’s liberal, pro-Western opposition party, the Union of Right Forces, ardently favored gay rights and employed canvassers with AIDS. Neither was true.

The leaflets often included the name and phone number of a leader of the party’s regional candidate slate, Andrei Osipenko. Some had condoms attached and announced offers to send supporters to a gay-pride event in Amsterdam.

…

The party was refused advertising space on everything from billboards to newspapers to television. When Mr. Nemtsov tried to campaign in Nizhny Novgorod in the fall, no one would rent him a hall. In November, the party headquarters were ransacked and spray-painted with profanities and graffiti that called it the “Party of Gays.”

Hat Tip: Ruslan Porshnev, whose Anti-Dogma project is a member of the Russian LGBT Alliance.

Hutcherson’s Hate Sermon

Watchman On the Walls cofounder Ken Hutcherson is at it again. This came from a recent Sunday sermon by the good reverend:

On a Sunday when Tarico was present, Hutcherson was preaching on gender roles. During his sermon, Hutcherson stated, “God hates soft men” and “God hates effeminate men.” Hutcherson went on to say, “If I was in a drugstore and some guy opened the door for me, I’d rip his arm off and beat him with the wet end.”

“That was a joke,” Hutcherson said Friday, when I asked him about the comment. But it’s not really funny, is it?

No it isn’t at all. Especially in light of Lawrence King’s recent murder. Remember, he was described as effeminate by his classmates. It’s appalling to see a Christian preacher make light of violence like this. This man man has no sense of shame or decency.

With a constant torrent of statements like these coming from pastors, it’s no wonder that nearly eight out of ten evangelical youth consider their own church to be “too anti-homosexual.” Exodus International claims that they want to change that by “demonstrat[ing] love and compassion to homosexual individuals.” And yet, Hutcherson has been a regular speaker at Exodus International’s annual conference for some time now. If Exodus leaders proudly stand on the stand on the same stage as their “good friend” again this year, their sham will be vividly apparent to everyone.

Ex-Gay Survivors Talk About Love In Action and other Ex-Gay Ministries

It’s been a very long day here in Memphis, where several of us have gathered for the Beyond Ex-Gay Mid-South Regional Gathering taking place this weekend. Earlier today, we had a press conference to talk about the experiences of those who had participated in ex-gay ministries and therapies, and to talk about the Love Won Out ex-gay conference taking place here on Saturday.

I’m posting the videos of that press conference a bit out of order because I really want to highlight Jacob Wilson’s comments. Jacob was a client at Love In Action, the residential ex-gay program in Memphis made famous by Zach, the sixteen-year-old blogger who was forced into the program against his will. Listen as Jacob describes his experience there, especially the infamous “friends and family weekend,” which was an integral part of the program. If you don’t watch any other video in this post, you must at least see this one:

I was standing near another former client of Love In Action as Jacob spoke. He described his experience at a different “friends and family weekend” which was very nearly identical to Jacob’s. I cannot imagine a more outrageous form of abuse short of physical abuse than to force anyone to speak like this in front of their parents. Coupled with Love In Action’s bizarre rules, we would be calling this outfit a brain-washing cult if it weren’t being operated as a “Christian ministry.” Christians everywhere should be outraged.

Other videos from the press conference, in order of appearance:

Yours truly, talking about what was said at Love Won Out, and how real live parents who were attending responded to what they said:

Brandon Tidwell went into Love In Action six years ago, soon after coming out to his parents:

After Brandon and Jacob spoke, John Holm talked about the collages which ex-gay survivors put together to describe their personal experiences which they will share tomorrow morning at the Love Won Out conference:

And finally, the hardest working woman in the whole program, Christine Bakke took reporters on a tour of the art show that she oversaw at the Memphis Gay and Lesbian Community Center.

Peter’s Obsession

We’ve often been bemused and perturbed by Peter LaBarbera’s peculiar obsession with all things gay. We’re not alone. Fellow Christians also find him an embarrassment:

…I will faithfully be waiting for the following websites to emerge, if these people are really trying to get biblical truth out there

Americans for Truth about Lying
Americans for Truth about Gossip
Americans for Truth about Bitterness
Americans for Truth about Slander
Americans for Truth about Poverty
Americans for Truth about Widows

Video: Inside The Exodus International “Freedom Conference”

Jim and I are jetting off to Memphis later today and Timothy is skiing in Tahoe so here’s something to hold you over till I can start blogging from Memphis tomorrow.

In this video Jim recounts the attitude parents at the Exodus Freedom Conference with gay and lesbian children. Jim likens their level of emotion to a death in the family. I’ll let Jim elaborate:

How Can My Child Be Gay?

John Smid’s Vagina Monologue

I’ve wanted to post about this ever since I attended the Exodus Freedom Conference last summer. But to be perfectly honest, I was so flabbergasted by Love In Action Director John Smid’s workshop on masturbation that I was never able to figure out how to approach it.

Watch this, especially at the point about halfway through the video when he talks about respecting his wife while talking about her vagina. When someone like this projects so many of his issues onto everyone else, do you think he’s qualified to teach anyone about sexuality?

So now that you’ve heard that, read the rules that the residential clients at Love In Action are expected to follow. It takes your breath away, doesn’t it?

The Burden of Blame: How Love In Action Harms Parents

I’ve written before about the cruel messages that parents often pick up from the ex-gay movement, messages which say that parents are to blame for their child’s homosexuality. Several people have questioned me about whether this is true or not. All I can do is report what I heard from talking to parents themselves. Former ex-gays have come forward to talk about their experiences, but so far few parents have spoken up.

Ex-gay surviver Peterson Toscano has posted a very poignant video in which he recounts his parents’ devastation after attending a “Family and Friends” weekend at the Love In Action residential ex-gay program in Memphis, Tennessee. It was a message which Peterson’s mom carried with her for the rest of her life. Watch it:

Peterson talked later with someone at Love In Action about his parents experience and received an unbelievably callous response:

But when I spoke with someone … about all that happened with my mom and the years of doubt and torment she suffered, he shot back, “Healthy people ask for what they need.” I said, “Wait, what!?” He continued, “If your mom was having problems, she should have gotten some help.” But my mom had already been burnt by “experts,” and I know she didn’t want to expose herself to more hurt. But even if she could of or should of talked to someone to help her understand the issues better, what a pitiful response from this Christian leader.

Love In Action bills themselves as Christians, professionals, and experts. But with actions like these, they defile all three labels. We’ll have more on Love In Action later.

Gosh, Why Would Hutcherson’s Daughter Make the GSA Kids Uncomfortable?

As we previously reported, Rev. Ken Hutcherson has expanded his war on the lives of gay people from Microsoft to Mt. Si High School.

Convinced of his moral superiority, Hutcherson has no hesitation in making outlandish demands and accusations. The new targets in his sights are the teachers who he feels disrespected him and the school’s Gay-Straight Alliance.

Hutcherson told OneNewsNow

In addition, says the pastor and father, teachers at the school have approached his daughter — and on at least one occasion, one of his daughter’s friends — in hopes of discouraging her from attending Gay Straight Alliance meetings in the aftermath of the assembly. They have reportedly advised that her presence causes members of the club to be “uncomfortable.”

On his church website, Hutch has the following message:

The text reads:

This poster is hanging in the window of a classrom [sic] at Mt. Si High School!

It’s time we wake up and realize we are in a culture WAR!

When teachers are allowed to hang posters like this in our local school, we’ve got a big problem. It’s time to take back our schools.

Pastor Hutch

Hutcherson knows that the poster is a product of the students – or he should. So why is he complaining that a teacher was allowed to hang the poster? Because he knows that he won’t be able to stir up anger against children and honesty always takes a back seat to effectiveness in war.

I don’t know Hutcherson’s daughter. She may be delightful. But if I were a student who was part of Mt. Si’s GSA, I too would be uncomfortable to see her – or her camera – in the room. Her father has declared WAR on their lives, and it certainly appears that she is a soldier.

Hat tip: Good-As-You