Sally Kern cites Paul Cameron - it was bound to happen

It was just a matter of time.

Besides her Biblical admonitions about homosexuality, Sally Kern said there were studies as to the so-called "danger of homosexuality."

In the past, she hinted about the studies, focusing on the religious side of the argument. But in a recent letter to the editor, she sent out what she feels are proof of her claims.

She really should have stuck to the religious side of the argument.

Two things stood out in Kern's letter to the editor:

The study “The Longevity of Homosexuals” found that the average lifespan for lesbians is only slightly higher than that of homosexual men.

I looked it up. And that is a study conducted by our friend Paul Cameron. The entire piece is called The longevity of homosexuals: Before and after the AIDS epidemic

If you aren't familiar with Cameron, let me give you a few facts about him:

1982 - He invented a story about a child being mutilated in the bathroom by a gay man. When the police investigated and found the story to be false, he admitted to making it up.

1983 - He was kicked out the American Psychological Association after an investigation that he distorted the work of six researchers to prove negative theories about gay men.

1984 - A. Nicholas Groth, director of the Sex Offender Program at the Connecticut Department of Corrections, complained to the Nebraska Board of Examiners of Psychologists about Paul Cameron’s usage of his work to make the claim that gays molest children at a high rate.

1985 - The Midwest Sociological Society censures Paul Cameron. Also, the American Sociological Association and the Society for the Study of Social Problems both pass resolutions against him.

Like pretty much all of Cameron's work, the study, The Longevitity of Homosexuals, derives from his infamous 1983 survey regarding gays and lesbians. The survey contained many errors. Of over 4,000 people asked questions regarding sexual behavior, only 65 claimed to be gay or lesbian. Also, even before the study was completed, Cameron had publicly said it will prove negatives about gays and lesbians.

To find a good chronology of Cameron's distortions and lies (and how he has been rebuked and laughed at by legitimate researchers and physicians), you can go here, here, or here (pan down to the time line).

Kern also says:

“The International Journal of Epidemiology” states that the mortality rate for those engaging in homosexual relations before age 20 have their life expectancy reduced by as much as 30 years."

What Kern does not tell readers is that in 2001, the authors of the study went on record with the International Journal of Epidemiology saying that the religious right was distorting their work:

Over the past few months we have learnt of a number of reports regarding a paper we published in the International Journal of Epidemiology on the gay and bisexual life expectancy in Vancouver in the late 1980s and early 1990s. From these reports it appears that our research is being used by select groups in US and Finland to suggest that gay and bisexual men live an unhealthy lifestyle that is destructive to themselves and to others. These homophobic groups appear more interested in restricting the human rights of gay and bisexuals rather than promoting their health and well being.

The entire letter is here but I doubt Kern will want to read it.

Now I did not decipher the rest of Kern's letter, but it stands to reason that these two distorted pieces of work she cites negates her entire premise. And I'm sure anyone digging through her letter can find more distortions.

It's sad on so many levels. The saddest part is that Kern continues to mix distorted studies with Christian beliefs.

Sooner or later this thing is going to come to a point. But who is going to get stuck?

By the way, I wrote a nice, polite letter to the editor outlining the problems with Kern's sources. The address is tribune@bethanytribune.net

Hint, hint, hint.

The more Kern talks, the irresponsible she reveals herself to be.

But here is the rub. It doesn't matter as long as the truth doesn't come out. Someone has to make sure people know exactly what she is doing. Not the fact that she is a "bigot," or a "homophobe," but the fact that she is using bad studies from a man so filled with lies that he couldn't be truthful if his blood was replaced with truth serum.

That is the task that needs to be undertaken here.