Yesterday, I
wrote a post about how the American Family Association of Michigan's Gary Glenn publicly said he thinks that "homosexual behavior" should be criminalized.
Naturally what I wrote totally disagreed with his premise. Glenn didn't exactly like what I wrote so he wrote me back.
What ensued is a back and forth, which I think demonstrates just how folks like Glenn will attempt to manipulate facts and figures for their own purposes.
A summary is the following: Glenn lists reasons why "homosexual behavior" should be outlawed, but his reasonings are either studies taken out of context or work which specifically places the blame on homophobia for the health issues in gay men
(of course Glenn omits the lesbian community). When this is pointed out to him, Glenn refuses to retreat but engages in what seems to be a version of "Pickett's charge." And like the original Pickett's charge, his desperate push is destroyed. His comments are in rude and mine are in blue.
Glenn:
Hi Al,
Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm happy to directly address precisely what I mean when I said that homosexual behavior is proven to be a threat to public health and safety.
I was referring to the dramatically increased incidence of mental illness, substance abuse, eating disorders, STDs, life-threatening diseases such as AIDS, cancer, and hepatitis, and premature death by up to 20 years among individuals who engage in homosexual behavior.
My sources for the references above would be the Journal of the American Medical Association, Oxford University's International Journal of Epidemiology, the Centers for Disease Control, the Lesbian and Gay Medical Association, the (homosexual) Canadian Rainbow Health Coalition, the Canadiam Medical Association Journal, etc., etc. -- none of whose researchers, far as I know, are named Cameron.
I was also referring to "Life in the Bushes," the propensity of an apparently sizeable segment of individuals who engage in homosexual behavior to engage in multiple on-the-spot anonymous sexual encounters in city parks, highway rest stops, public rest rooms, "gay" bookstores, etc. -- a practice advertised and promoted any any number of "gay" websites.
For example, as the Royal Oak (Mi.) Daily Tribune reported March 23, 2000, regarding a police raid on one such location:
"(Hazel Park City Manager Joseph) Young also said the Oakland County Health Department had been called to check the business after suspected 'bodily fluids' had been found there. 'Essentially it revolves around conditions existing in the building that we feel make it unsafe,' said (Hazel Park Police Chief David) Niedermeier."
Or as the Detroit Free Press reported March 24, 2000:
"Investigators said gay sexual activity was common at seven of the adult bookstores raided Wednesday. The seven bookstores had so-called buddy booths, which let patrons masturbate while watching one another, said Ypsilanti Police Det. Sgt. Craig Annas. Some of the booths had portals that allowed sexual activities to take place between partners in different booths, Annas said. 'The result is that male semen gets all around these rooms,' endangering the public through possible exposure to infected bodily fluids, he said. ...But Jeff Montgomery, executive director of Detroit-based Triangle Foundation, a gay-and-lesbian-rights group, defended the bookstores and said the raids were politically motivated harassment of gays."
Or as openly lesbian Detroit News columnist Deb Price commented regarding such public health-threatening activity in her weekly homosexual advocacy column:
"The Los Angeles County Health Services found half of HIV-positive men were having sex in public places without telling their sex partners of their status and often not using condoms."
That's what I was referring to, Al, when I said homosexual behavior and the homosexual lifestyle are a "proven threat to public health and safety."
No weaseling or Camorenesque talking points required.
Me:
Actually Mr. Glenn, while you didn't refer to Cameron per se, you did use his distortive
(sp) techniques. For example:
You mentioned the so-called short life span of gay men. Now if I am not incorrect, you got that citation from the Oxford University's International Journal of Epidemiology. And you are referring to a 1997 study done by Canadian researchers. What you omitted was the fact that in 2001, those same researchers went on record
complaining about how their work was being distorted by people like yourself .
Now in your other examples, you mentioned incidents having to do with such things as substance abuse, eating disorders, STDs, and mental illness. HOWEVER, you make a inaccurate implication that these things are indicative of the lgbt orientation.